European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi blasts critics of easy money January 25, 2016 European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi has hit back at critics of the bank's decisions to keep interest rates low and launch a €1.5 trillion (£1.1 trillion) asset purchase programme. Draghi, who last week hinted interest rates might be cut further, said low interest rates were not punishing savers. He said inflation adjusted returns did not tell this story [...]
EU referendum: Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny warns of “serious difficulties” for Northern Ireland if UK leaves the EU January 25, 2016 Irish Prime Minister Enda Kelly has warned that a British exit from the EU would create "serious difficulties" for Northern Ireland. "From our perspective it would create serious difficulties for Northern Ireland and I don't want to see that happening," Kenny, who was in London visiting UK Prime Minister David Cameron, told journalists today. "Our focus is [...]
Bank of England’s Kristin Forbes: Pay growth is not high enough for an interest rate hike – but probably will be soon January 25, 2016 Wages are not yet growing fast enough to lift inflation, but are likely to accelerate soon, one of the Bank of England's rate-setters will say tomorrow. "Labour costs are not yet at the levels consistent with inflation meeting the two per cent target sustainably in the UK," Kristin Forbes will tell the Henry Jackson Society in Parliament. [...]
UK factories suffer drop in domestic and foreign orders January 25, 2016 UK factories have started the year in bad shape, suffering weak sales growth at home and abroad, new survey figures reveal today. The Confederation of British Industry's (CB) headline total order books balance dropped to a score of minus 15 in January from minus seven in December. The export order balance dropped to minus 22 from minus [...]
London rents accelerate as amount of payments in arrears increases January 22, 2016 London rents grew 6.3 per cent year-on-year in December, according to figures released this morning. The rate of growth was the joint-fastest for a calendar year since 2011, estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains said. Across England and Wales, rents rose 3.4 per cent on the year, the fastest rate of calendar-year growth for [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence edges down in January but remains at elevated levels January 21, 2016 Eurozone consumer confidence has fallen this month, according to figures released today. The European Commission's flash consumer confidence indicator dropped 0.6 points to a score of minus 6.3 in January. However, the figures show confidence is still at historically high levels. Flash figures are estimates based on incomplete survey data. Final figures based on all survey reponses will be published [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale says wage growth is too slow for an interest rate hike January 21, 2016 Another member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee as flagged up slow wage growth as a reason they are likely to hold off on voting for an interest rate increase. "Whatever the causes of the recent weakness, inflation is unlikely to recover back to target without a marked improvement in wage growth," Martin Weale [...]
Euro plummets as Mario Draghi opens the door for more easing in March January 21, 2016 Eurozone monetary policy could be loosened further in March, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has suggested. The euro immediately dropped 0.6 per cent against the dollar. European stocks shot up, with the German Dax rising over one per cent, building on earlier gains. The French Cac 40 also jumped an extra one per cent after [...]
European Central Bank holds interest rates at record lows January 21, 2016 The European Central Bank decided not to cut interest rates further today. The interest paid on deposits kept at the Frankfurt-based central bank was kept at minus 0.3 per cent. It was cut to minus 0.2 per cent last month while the ECB also ramped up its €60bn asset purchase programme in December, extending it by six [...]
Mortgage lending hits post-recession high of £220bn in 2015 January 21, 2016 Mortgage lending rose by eight per cent last year compared with the year before, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said this morning. Lenders approved £19.9bn of home loans in December, taking the 2015 total to £220.3bn – the highest annual figure since 2008. December's lending figure was slightly down on November, but was 23 per [...]