By: Jake Cordell

I'm City A.M.'s economics reporter, looking at the news, stories and data that move markets in the UK, Europe and around the globe. I also cover broader developments in the business and political worlds at home and abroad.

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Japanese officials hit the brakes on yen rally

August 17, 2016

The Japanese yen has eased back today after a top government official threatened direct intervention if the currency continued to strengthen. The yen broke below ¥100 against the US dollar yesterday as investors continued to flock to the currency, seen as a safe haven because of Japan's low inflation. The dramatic rally over the last [...]
The Office for National Statistics has put together an economists supergroup to avoid dodgy data

August 17, 2016

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has beefed up its research team with the appointment of a new expert panel of economists – a supergroup, if you will – as it seeks to respond to a string of criticism. Former Bank of England rate-setter Martin Weale, who has just left the monetary policy committee (MPC) after a [...]
Household income surpasses pre-crisis levels – but not for those in work

August 17, 2016

Disposable incomes have finally reached their pre-crisis high after a seven-year battle to recover from the recession. UK households had an average of £26,400 to spend in the last financial year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up 2.7 per cent on the year before and back above the £26,000 level reached in 2007/08. The [...]
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund worried about Brexit uncertainty

August 17, 2016

Norway's sovereign wealth fund rode out market turbulence in the second quarter to boost its holdings by an extra £8bn. The world's largest fund of its kind clocked a return of 1.3 per cent – just shy of the market average – as it highlighted "sharp" volatility as a result of the UK's Brexit referendum. With [...]
No sign of Brexit hit as employment rate reaches new record high

August 17, 2016

The employment rate reached a new record high in June, as fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed no sign of a post-referendum hit to jobs. The latest jobs numbers, which refer to the month of the referendum, showed the number of people in work climbed to its highest on record of 31.75m in [...]
Flagship government smart meter programme suffers latest delay

August 17, 2016

The government's multi-billion pound smart meter programme has suffered its latest setback today as the launch of a crucial bit of the project has been delayed. The new IT system, which links the in-house smart meters directly to the energy companies, was due to be launched today, but the BBC reported the government has now quietly kicked that back until [...]
No problems for the Old Lady as Carney snaps up government bonds in QE programme

August 16, 2016

The Bank of England's quantitative easing programme went off without a hitch this afternoon, allaying fears Threadneedle Street may need to change tact. In the Bank's second round of buying super-long-term government bonds, investors offered to sell £3.1bn to the Bank – 2.67 times the amount it needed to buy. Last week, the Bank fell [...]
China gives green light to latest stock market tie-up

August 16, 2016

Investors will soon be able to tap in to China's fledgling tech sector with the latest flagship international stock-market tie up set to be launched later this year. The Chinese premier signalled today the long-awaited Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect had been given the green light by the country's state council, meaning international investors will be able [...]
US Federal Reserve frozen by weak US inflation as price rises slip back

August 16, 2016

Inflation slipped back in the US economy in July, further easing the pressure on the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. The consumer prices index (CPI) came in at 0.8 per cent in July, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in figures released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics this afternoon. That was down from [...]
Downgrades outpace upgrades by three-to-one in the sovereign credit ratings game

August 16, 2016

Governments across the world are becoming riskier to lend to, according to an analysis of sovereign credit ratings. Research by IHS Global has shown the number of downgrades outpaced upgrades by a ratio of three-to-one in the second quarter of the year, as low commodities prices hurt emerging markets and Brexit led to the UK [...]

First real estate float on challenger stock market Aquis

English cricket facing tragedy if ECB doesn’t change, warns county boss

Psst… This is how to ski Les 3 Vallées without the crowds

By: Jake Cordell

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