FTSE 100 surpasses 2016 highest point to close at record high as miners drive end-of-year gains December 28, 2016 The FTSE 100 surpassed its record highest close on Wednesday as investors started returning to their desks after the Christmas break. London’s blue chip index was one of the top performing indices worldwide as mining stocks drove it above its highest previous close to reach 7,106.08 points. That beat the 7103.98 point close set in April 2015. Sterling's continued [...]
Four of Donald Trump’s New Year resolutions on the economy December 28, 2016 Predicting the future is hard. Predicting what US President-elect Donald Trump will do is potentially harder. Trump's campaigning style might politely be characterised as "shoot from the hip", which makes it tricky to know what exactly he has planned for the world's largest economy. Luckily, the man who will be leader of the free world [...]
No Brexit effect on their business say UK managers – but watch out for the broader economy December 28, 2016 British managers are confident about their prospects for the next year, but think Brexit is going to dent the UK economy over the course of 2017, according to a poll. More than half of managers think their own business has a positive outlook for the next year, compared to only a quarter who think they [...]
Eight podcasts to make you better at your job December 28, 2016 There’s a podcast for everything, but not all programmes are created equal. Here are some of the best to download for your commute – and which could even make you better at your job. Planet Money A podcast about economics hardly sounds like it will set the world alight but this offering from America’s National [...]
A sign of things to come? Mortgage approvals fall in November, although consumers are still borrowing at ultra-low rates December 28, 2016 Mortgage approvals are nine per cent lower than the same point last year, but UK consumers were still borrowing to power the economy in the five months after EU referendum. The number of house purchase mortgage approvals fell slightly in November to 40,659, down from 40,835 in October, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), [...]
“Fake news” report of explosion activated Facebook’s Safety Check feature in Bangkok December 28, 2016 Facebook wrongly activated its Safety Check feature for an explosion in Bangkok after a protester let off firecrackers on the roof of a government building, according to reports. The man climbed on top of a government bank and threw the firecrackers towards another government building in a protest allegedly about a land dispute, according to [...]
Philip Green says BHS successor Dominic Chappell must pay part of pension fund black hole December 26, 2016 Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, wants regulators to force his successor to contribute towards plugging the black hole in the collapsed company’s pension fund, according to reports. A payment by Dominic Chappell, who infamously bought the retailer from Green for £1, is one of the conditions of the billionaire Green making his [...]
Russia plane crash likely not terrorism says intelligence service as fragments of wreckage are found December 26, 2016 Terrorism is not among the main reasons being investigated for the plane crash in Russia which killed 92 people early on Christmas morning according to the country’s defence ministry, as it expands its search in an attempt to locate the aircraft’s black box flight recorder. Russia’s Ministry of Defence has found 86 fragments of the [...]
Boxing Day footfall slump points to domination of the online retailers December 26, 2016 Boxing Day high street retail sales have fallen sharply year on year as UK shoppers stay at home and push online sales to record heights, according to early data. Half day footfall fell by six per cent compared to Boxing Day last year, according to data from retail monitors Springboard. A decline of 16.6 per [...]
India’s economy to overtake UK – and France will enjoy a brief period on top as sterling fall makes its mark December 26, 2016 India’s economy is set to overtake the UK in size in the next two years as the second largest country by population continues its heady pace of development, according to a new study. France’s GDP will also rise above the UK’s for the next five years, according to forecasts in the World Economic League Table, [...]
