US Federal Reserve tapers and suggests interest rates could get a hike September 17, 2014 The US Federal Reserve revealed last night that another of its senior officials has opposed a pledge to keep rates at record lows, while projections suggest that borrowing costs could rise faster than had been expected. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted eight to two to maintain the federal funds rate at the zero [...]
Wage growth too weak for Bank of England to lift interest rates September 17, 2014 TWO HAWKISH policymakers at the Bank of England failed to convince the rest of the monetary policy committee (MPC) to vote for a rate hike for the second month running, the minutes of its September meeting showed yesterday. The MPC is split over the strength of the recovery, and the timing of any future increase [...]
Unemployment falls at fastest pace in 25 years September 17, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT plunged to its lowest level since 2008 in the three months to July, official figures showed yesterday, as the job market’s rapid recovery signals higher wages could be just around the corner. Joblessness dived at the fastest pace in 25 years in the year to August, falling to 6.2 per cent. Meanwhile, employment jumped [...]
Housing boom is nationwide September 16, 2014 HOUSE prices boomed at record rates across the UK in the year to July, according to official data released yesterday, despite separate and more recent figures showing growth rates levelling off. Prices rose 11.7 per cent in the year to July with London leading the way at 19.1 per cent. Prices paid by first-time buyers [...]
Falling inflation to give Bank greater leeway September 16, 2014 INFLATION slid further in August, official data showed yesterday, easing some of the pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates. The consumer price index slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.5 per cent in the year to August from 1.6 per cent in July, according to figures from the Office for [...]
Sluggish Eurozone recovery hit by falling exports September 15, 2014 Worries about the Eurozone’s stuttering recovery worsened yesterday as new data showed weakening exports. A 0.2 per cent fall in goods export values and 0.9 per cent rise in import values from June to July narrowed the bloc’s trade surplus from €2.8bn (£2.2bn) to €1.7bn. Only economic powerhouse Germany showed signs of a widening trade [...]
Weak US car manufacturing may slow taper September 15, 2014 A slowdown in US manufacturing may tempt the Federal Reserve to delay the ending of the asset purchase programme when it meets today and tomorrow. Tapering is expected to end in October with the monthly purchases reduced from $25bn (£15.4bn) to zero. But yesterday’s data shows manufacturing declining by 0.4 per cent over August, the [...]
