UK’s factories confident of fast growth June 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S manufacturers remain confident that they can drive the economy forwards, leading industry group EEF revealed today. Despite the sector accounting for only 13 per cent of GDP, manufacturing has contributed one third of growth since the recovery began, a report from EEF said. And a positive balance of 27 per cent of factories are [...]
Bank’s rate-setters welcome Broadbent to the committee June 5, 2011 FORMER Goldman Sachs economist Ben Broadbent makes his debut on the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee this week, with stuttering growth and stubborn inflation heightening its dilemma. Only sluggish expansion was recorded for May in the UK’s service and manufacturing sectors, which make up over 90 per cent of GDP. Yet consumer price inflation spiked [...]
Persistent price pressures leave investors looking for alternatives June 5, 2011 HEIGHTENED inflation is forcing investors to look at alternative assets, fresh research from Clear Path Analysis reveals today. The world economy faces a “long term upward trend in inflation caused by lax monetary policies globally, which will significantly erode the value of low return assets and cash,” according to Deutsche Bank economist Thomas Mayer. Investors [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: IS IT TIME TO START NORMALISING INTEREST RATES? June 5, 2011 PATRICK MINFORD | CARDIFF BUSINESS SCHOOL “Yes, because more easing will be counterproductive. They have to accept that there’s an environment of slow growth now. The danger is the Bank could push sterling down even more, by staying loose while the rest of the world tightens, resulting in longer-term inflationary effects.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON [...]
Airlines slam EU emissions trade scheme June 5, 2011 GLOBAL airlines attacked the European Union yesterday over its plan to force them into the bloc’s emissions trading scheme, as the EU vowed to stand firm against threats of retaliation. Aviation chiefs spoke out against the EU move at a meeting in Singapore, with some warning of the danger of a trade war and airlines [...]
Why planning laws must not damage the City June 5, 2011 IT is easy to forget that between the tall buildings and the state of the art office blocks and in amongst the fashionable bars and high-end restaurants, substantial parts of the Square Mile are hundreds of years old. But while the City of London Corporation is rightly proud of the City’s heritage and goes to [...]
Arctic activists stop Cairn drill June 5, 2011 OIL explorer Cairn Energy was forced to stop drilling at one of its Greenland wells over the weekend after environmental activists boarded the rig, breaching an exclusion zone. Greenpeace said 18 of its protestors were arrested after storming the Leiv Eiriksson rig on Saturday in a bid to highlight safety and environmental concerns about drilling [...]
Sainsbury’s car insurance tie-up June 5, 2011 SAINSBURY’S Finance is planning to launch a new reward scheme for shoppers, aimed at tapping the car insurance market. The scheme, underwritten by RBS Insurance, will see Sainsbury’s Nectar card users receive a discount of up to 15 per cent on car insurance premiums. Shoppers will also get double loyalty points on purchases in-store for [...]
Foreign states owe UK £2.3bn June 5, 2011 THE UK government is owed more than £2.3bn by foreign states, including a number of the most undemocratic and despotic regimes in the world. Some of the largest debts to Whitehall’s Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) are owed by Zimbabwe (£190m) and Sudan (£664m). The list of debts owed to the ECGD by 25 foreign [...]
City: rates must rise in Autumn at latest June 5, 2011 VOICE OF THE CITY THE Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) should raise interest rates by early autumn at the latest, according to members of the City A.M./PoliticsHome Voice of the City panel. Fifty-three per cent of panellists said the MPC should hike rates by September at the latest. Over a third (34 per [...]
