Pay growth falls to two-year low despite jobs rise January 8, 2016 Pay growth has slowed to its lowest rate in over two years, new survey figures show this morning. The slowdown comes despite an increase in job vacancies in December, according to the data compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and financial services firm KPMG. The survey’s pay gauge slid to a score of 58.7 [...]
UK house prices: Number of tenants in serious rent arrears rising January 8, 2016 The number of tenants falling seriously behind on rent went up by 13.8 per cent between the three months to June and the three months to September, according to figures released this morning. There were 84,200 tenants more than two months behind on their payments between July and September – the most for two years, the [...]
Eurozone economic confidence at its highest since 2011 as unemployment edges down January 7, 2016 Consumers and businesses in the Eurozone are feeling more confident on the economy, according to figures released this morning. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator climbed 0.7 points to a score 0f 106.8 in December – the highest since 2011. Its average since 1990 is 100. Consumer confidence is being helped by a falling unemployment rate, which [...]
Sterling drops to five-year low against the dollar January 7, 2016 The pound hit a five-and-a-half-year low against the dollar today, as markets tumbled in the wake of turbulent trading in China. The pound was buying $1.4568 in mid-morning trading, after falling 0.42 per cent. It was also 8.2 per cent below its 2015 peak of 1.5883. Sterling was also down 1.16 per cent against the euro and [...]
Chancellor George Osborne warns on dangerous threats to UK economy January 7, 2016 Britain's financial wellbeing could come under threat from global economic shocks, chancellor George Osborne will say today. “Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats,” he will tell business leaders in Cardiff. Slowdowns in Brazil, Russia and China pose a major [...]
Manufacturers expect tough year as export growth drops to 2009 levels January 7, 2016 Manufacturers are unlikely to contribute much to the UK’s economic growth this year, according to new survey figures released this morning. Export sales nearly stagnated in the final three months of last year, the data from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed. The export sales balance – the difference between the percentage of factories reporting [...]
ISM PMI: The US economy has lost some traction January 6, 2016 The US economy slowed in December, according to a survey of businesses published today. The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index dropped to a score of 55.3 for last month from 55.9 in November. Scores above 50 indicate growth, with last month's lower score indicator slower growth. The survey was for the non-manufacturing sectors, which [...]
ECB chief economist Peter Praet: If you print enough money, you will always get inflation January 6, 2016 The European Central Bank's chief economist has staunchly defended its asset purchase programme, arguing that it will eventually increase inflation in the Eurozone. "If you print enough money, you will always get inflation. Always," Peter Praet said in an interview with Belgian magazine Knack. However, he added: But if oil and commodities prices tumble, it is [...]
Markit PMI: The Eurozone recovery is getting into full swing January 6, 2016 The Eurozone economy is likely to have grown at its fastest rate in four and a half years toward the end of 2015, according to survey figures released this morning. The figures mark a swift turnaround in fortunes for the currency-bloc, which has been blighted by sluggish growth since it was struck by a second recession [...]
Glassdoor: UK is third best place in Europe to look for work January 6, 2016 The UK is one of the top places in Europe for finding work, according to new research published this morning. Online jobs site Glassdoor said that while the unemployment rate in countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Germany were lower than in the UK, the UK has one of the lowest proportions of temporary workers. In [...]