Bank of England governor Mark Carney renews calls to help businesses navigate Brexit November 30, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has today reiterated his views that businesses need a helping hand to get through Brexit. Speaking at a press conference to coincide with this morning's release of the Bank's stress test results and latest Financial Stability report, Carney said that businesses needed as smooth a transition as possible as [...]
Confidence in UK business prospects reaches 10-month high but economic optimism falls 20 per cent November 30, 2016 Confidence in business prospects has risen to a 10-month high for UK businesses, despite a big rise in concerns over the country’s economic health, according to a new survey. Over half of companies said that they expected business prospects to improve in the next year, and only five per cent said they expected their business [...]
IFS director defends forecasts as “the best we have” while Jacob Rees-Mogg says IFS experts are “sticking finger in the wind” November 29, 2016 Economists from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have defended their analysis of UK forecasts to parliament's Treasury select committee. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, maintained his stance on the official data, saying the forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility are “the best starting point that we have”. Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a [...]
Surprise upward revision of US GDP gives further support for interest rate rise November 29, 2016 US growth surprised analysts by being revised upwards in the third quarter, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its next meeting in December. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 3.2 per cent from July to September, a big jump from second-quarter growth of 1.4 per [...]
Oil prices fall as investors see Opec production cut possibility slipping away November 29, 2016 Oil markets recorded heavy falls on Tuesday as a long-mooted supply cut by Opec looks increasingly unlikely. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark, fell as low as $45.63 per barrel at the time of writing – more than 2.8 per cent in the day. Meanwhile Brent crude, the North Sea benchmark, [...]
Eurozone business confidence falls but Brexit effect seems to have worn off November 29, 2016 Business confidence in the Eurozone fell in November, surprising analysts after a widely followed measure posted healthy gains in the previous two months. However, the indicator represents a relatively stable outlook after Brexit lows and ahead of a year of major political events in Europe. The business climate indicator, which reflects the results of a [...]
UK consumer borrowing continues to rise in October November 29, 2016 Lending to UK households grew in October, as British consumers continued to borrow money in spite of the vote to leave the European Union. Consumer credit grew by an annual rate of 10.5 per cent in October, marginally faster than the 10.4 per cent rate reported for September. This translates to an increase of £1.6bn [...]
UK mortgage approvals enjoyed a steady increase in October as post-referendum growth continues November 29, 2016 Mortgage approvals in the UK rose to their highest point since March 2016 as the market continues last month's growth. Approvals had fallen steadily from May until August this year. According to the Bank of England, 67,518 mortgages were approved in October – up from the 63,594 approved in September. This adds up to £12bn of [...]
Two-thirds of oil and gas firms in the UK have had to cut jobs as low prices continue to haunt industry November 29, 2016 Oil and gas workers are still feeling the squeeze from the crash in global oil prices, with two-thirds of the industry cutting staff and the median pay of operators and contractors declining for the first time in at least 22 years, according to a poll. 67 per cent of companies have cut jobs in the [...]
Draghi takes a tough line on the UK’s Brexit negotiations and says ECB will “assess the various options” on extending quantitative easing at its December meeting November 28, 2016 Europe’s most influential central banker has taken a tough stance against the United Kingdom ahead of it beginning the process of leaving the European Union, while calling for the UK government to lay out its objectives "as soon as possible". European Central Bank president Mario Draghi made it clear he thought Europe should not weaken [...]
