UK set to face ‘sluggish’ growth in the face of sticky inflation and Bank of England interest rate hikes
Pay rises next year will finally beat inflation October 23, 2014 Wages look set to outpace inflation throughout 2015, according to new research published today. Private sector employers are predicting pay awards of two per cent over the coming year. The research comes from XpertHR, a human resources company, which has surveyed 282 organisations with regard to pay and reward in the year to 31 August [...]
Manufacturers see solid growth despite weak exports to Europe October 23, 2014 MANUFACTURERS continued to see business grow in the three months to October, but the pace of growth was hit by weak export orders. The survey results, published yesterday by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), showed that 31 per cent of the 448 businesses surveyed reported an increase in total new orders. A decline was [...]
Policy makers are set to delay first rate hike October 22, 2014 A COOLING housing market, low inflation, and a troubled Eurozone made for more dovish tones at this months meeting of the monetary policy committee. The meeting was held on the 7 and 8 October but the minutes were made available yesterday. As in the previous three meetings the vote to hold rates was won by [...]
London’s prime housing market hits the brakes October 22, 2014 PRIME London house prices will stay flat until the end of year, estate agent Marsh & Parsons (M&P) said today. Prices grew by just 0.5 per cent over the past three months. The buyers-to-property ratio has halved since the start of the year and now sits at 12 for each property for September. Meanwhile, the [...]
Construction work coming in at quickest rate seen this century October 22, 2014 THE CONSTRUCTION sector is continuing to pick up momentum, with workloads rising at their quickest rate for 20 years, new survey data shows today. The survey undertaken by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) uses net balances – the proportion of people giving a positive response minus the per cent of those giving a negative [...]
House building booming, but not by enough October 22, 2014 UK HOUSE building has hit its highest level for seven years, but there is still a “chronic shortage” of housing, a leading home warranty provider said today. The number of new homes increased eight per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) have shown. Much of the growth was [...]
Europe energy goals too costly for UK business October 22, 2014 EUROPEAN Union renewable energy targets will cripple UK businesses and hit household finances significantly, says a report released today. The report, by think tank Open Europe, shows that EU energy targets could add 23 per cent to UK firms’ bills by 2020. Under EU targets, the UK has committed itself to the most ambitious increase in [...]
German spending spree would not be enough to save Eurozone October 22, 2014 GERMAN fiscal stimulus would have a minimal impact on Eurozone growth, ratings agency Standard and Poors (S&P) have said. Top figures, including Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank boss, and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund have called on the Eurozone’s largest economy to boost spending. With a balanced budget and low [...]
Scrap student loans system, says think tank October 22, 2014 TAXPAYER-financed student loans should be replaced by an agreement whereby graduates pay their university a proportion of their future earnings to fund their studies. By tying universities’ income to that of students, universities would have a greater incentive to produce successful graduates, the Institute of Economic Affairs’ said today. Courses have become rigid, often designed [...]
Car production drives towards a six-year high October 22, 2014 UK CAR manufacturers accelerated to their strongest first nine months of a year since 2008, data published this morning has shown. So far this year, 1,132,017 cars have been produced, according to the figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The year-to-date figure marks a 0.6 per cent increase on the [...]