UK consumer confidence dips but stays high October 30, 2014 Confidence among the UK’s shoppers remains at high levels that are consistent with a strong economy despite falling marginally in October. The confidence index produced by market research firm GfK fell by one point from September to October and now sits at minus two, according to survey results released today. At the peak of financial [...]
US growth beats expectations as dollar gets a lift October 30, 2014 THE DOLLAR continued to increase against the euro yesterday after US GDP growth surprised on the upside and the market further digested hawkish statements from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Annualised growth – what annual growth would be if the three-month growth rate were maintained over a full year – was 3.5 per cent in [...]
New data shows housing market is slowing down October 30, 2014 HOUSE price growth continued to slow down in October, adding to the view that the market is experiencing a broad-based cooling. Prices grew by nine per cent year-on-year in October, according to figures released yesterday by Nationwide. Although the annual growth is high, it is slower than the 11.8 per cent seen in June when [...]
Help-to-buy sees high use October 30, 2014 JUST under 34,000 homes have been bought using the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme, requiring £1.42bn of loans from the Treasury. The scheme provides a loan to first-time buyers of new builds. The loan can be up to 20 per cent of the house price with only a five per cent deposit needed. The homes most commonly bought [...]
Drop in German inflation raises worries for euro October 30, 2014 The threat of Eurozone-wide deflation and prolonged economic stagnation was heightened by figures out yesterday showing a surprise drop in German inflation. Official data revealed that month-on-month price growth was minus 0.3 per cent from September to October. The number is down from September’s month-on-month growth of minus 0.1 per cent. Annual inflation still remains above [...]
Eurozone confidence takes a surprise upturn but is still low October 30, 2014 Confidence in the Eurozone edged up slightly in October after four months of not growing. The Economic Sentiment Indicator published by the European Commission yesterday picked up by 0.8 points to 100.7. Despite the rise the figure is much lower than it was earlier in the year. It was propped up by increased confidence in [...]
Spanish economy continues to outpace the northern nations October 30, 2014 THE SPANISH economy continues to grow as mediterranean countries and northern nations start to swap economic fortunes. Spain’s GDP rose by 0.5 per cent during the third quarter of the year as it continues its recovery which began in the second half of 2013, official data shows. The figures mark the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. [...]
World debt approaches $100tn October 29, 2014 Total debt levels of governments, businesses and households around the globe is about to hit $100 trillion (£62 trillion), according to worrying new figures published yesterday. To imagine the scale of the debt, analysts at M&G investments said that if the amount of money owed was cashed in as single dollar notes and placed end-to-end, [...]
Mortgage drop points to house price slowdown October 29, 2014 THE HOUSING market has displayed further signs of cooling, with the number of mortgage approvals dropping to a 14-month low in September. The number of approvals for house purchases fell to 61,267 in September from 64,054 in August, according to figures released yesterday by the Bank of England. Total mortgage approval values were £15.3bn in September, down [...]
State must slash spending to get debt under control October 28, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT needs to slash spending by a quarter if it is to meet its debt target due to the UK’s ageing population, a new report argues. Public sector debt is now over 75 per cent but this fails to take into account the effects of the UK’s ageing population, according to the report released today [...]