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.

All 1029 Articles

Even the national living wage can’t stop shops from cutting prices

May 4, 2016

Prices on the high-street fell in April, despite the introduction of the living wage, according to the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), published today. Retailers cut prices by 1.7 per cent over the past year — the same rate of discounting as a month earlier and the 36th consecutive period of falling [...]
World Bank warns area covering two-thirds of world population at risk of growth slowdown

May 3, 2016

Water shortages could knock as much as six per cent off the size of the world’s largest economies over the next three decades, the World Bank has said in a new report published today. An area that includes more than four billion people, covering China, India, the middle east and sub-Saharan Africa, will suffer shrinking [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 goes away in May as miners prove the movers

May 3, 2016

Traders are superstitious folk, and today – the first day of trading in the month of May – they headed for the hills as the FTSE 100 tumbled to a three-week low. The bluechip index closed down 0.9 per cent on the day at 6,185 in a bad day all round for Europe. The German Dax [...]
European Commission trims growth forecasts and warns on EU referendum

May 3, 2016

Growth and inflation will remain weak for the rest of the year, the European Commission has said as it cut its outlook for the continent in its quarterly economic forecast, released today, and warned Brexit could knock growth even further The Eurozone area will grow by 1.6 per cent this year – down from a [...]
Bleak outlook for UK manufacturing industry – is Brexit to blame?

May 3, 2016

Confidence in the manufacturing industry plummeted in April, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) data out this morning, raising fears about a sustained slowdown in the sector – and the wider economy. On a scale where scores below 50 mark contraction, the Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) survey came in at 49.2 – [...]
Why are the kids out on strike and how is everybody reacting?

May 3, 2016

Thousands of school students were planning not to show up to class today in protest at the new Standard Assessment Tests (Sats) in a move dubbed the "kids strike". The protest is officially against the Year Two Sats, taken by six and seven year olds, though infant and primary school children up to the age of [...]
At the open: European markets tumble, but the pound prances on

May 3, 2016

European markets opened down this morning as traders consolidated positions ahead of a glut of corporate results this week. The FTSE 100 shot up by 16 points as bank holiday weekend trades become official, but then immediately plunged to stand down 0.4 per cent at 6,214 within the first hour of trading. Over in Germany, [...]
Rich people live longer than poor people … and the gap is widening

May 3, 2016

"Money can't buy you happiness," some poor fellow once said. It can, however, purchase an extra few years of good health, according to a new study from Cass Business School out this morning. Read more: The North-South life expectancy divide Researchers found that the difference in life expectancy between those of us who live the [...]
The activist mindset is invading the boardroom

May 3, 2016

Activist investors boost the financial performance of the businesses they take aim at, according to a new study from S&P Global Market Intelligence, released today. Research into US companies listed on the S&P 1500 showed that those which were part-owned by an activist investor outperformed their rivals over both the short and medium-term. Read more: [...]
Investors win as activism invades the boardroom

May 3, 2016

Activist investors have become a fixture in capital markets over the last several years, causing many to raise questions about the long-term value of a style of investing that puts a premium on short-term gains. It’s a phenomenon S&P Global Market Intelligence has studied closely to better understand the relationship between activist investing and corporate [...]

Oil price surge pushes investors to bet against interest rate cut

Hundred cricket stake sales help Glamorgan clear debts

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

By: Jake Cordell

All 1029 Articles

Subscribe