Mood on the high street hits nine-year high June 26, 2014 CONSUMER confidence in the UK has swelled to the highest levels in nine years, with sentiment continuing to improve as the recovery rolls on, according to a major survey. GfK’s latest survey of consumers, announced this morning, has risen back into positive territory for the first time since 2005, ending almost a decade of negativity. [...]
London tops UK table for boost in population June 26, 2014 London’s population rose at twice the pace of that of the UK between the middle of 2012 and the middle of 2013, according to figures published this morning. The total number of people in the UK rose by 400,600 during the 12 month period, a 0.63 per cent rise, of whom 107,900 were concentrated in [...]
UK inequality ticks up despite stagnant pay June 26, 2014 The average disposable income is £1,200 lower in real terms than before the impact of the financial crisis, according to figures published yesterday, which also confirmed that inequality ticked up slightly last year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK’s Gini co-efficient, a popular measure of income inequality, rose to [...]
Fund managers bearish about prospects for Chinese economy June 26, 2014 FUND managers are unconvinced about the potential for the Chinese economy this year, and a sizeable majority expect the country’s imports and exports to get worse as the summer gets underway. In a survey conducted by Capital Spreads and seen exclusively by City A.M, twothirds of the hundreds of fund managers surveyed expect that both [...]
Arctic US economy hit by biggest slump since recession June 25, 2014 The full and shocking extent of the collapse in the US economy during the frozen winter was revealed yesterday, as fresh figures suggest that output is now roaring ahead at the most rapid pace since the recession. US GDP plunged by 2.9 per cent on an annualised basis in the first three months of the [...]
US military advisers arrive in Iraq as fighters gain territory June 25, 2014 MILITARY advisers from the US returned to Iraq yesterday, as Islamist militia made further gains in the north of the country. Fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) assaulted an airfield in northern Iraq, just 55 miles north of Baghdad. The militants also reportedly took a number of small oil fields [...]
Patent victory fortifies Shire against AbbVie June 25, 2014 Pharmaceutical group Shire rejected a bid by US firm AbbVie yesterday, as it cheered a court ruling in its favour over a drug patent. Shire has already rejected the $46bn (£27.1bn) offer and said that the attempt undervalued it, reaffirming its stance today. The bid for Shire was AbbVie’s third, and it now might launch a [...]
Barclays hit as New York initiates dark pool lawsuit against bank June 25, 2014 BARCLAYS was slapped with a lawsuit by a US state yesterday, with New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman accusing the bank of a “disturbing disregard for its investors”. The case concerns Barclays’ dark pool operation, which the attorney general says favours high-frequency traders, who have been given “systematic advantages” by the bank. Schneiderman also alleges [...]
Finance watchdog hits ex-trader with charges for insider dealing June 25, 2014 A FORMER Schroders trader was charged with nine counts of insider dealing yesterday, covering a period of nearly a decade. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the charges against Damian Frank Clarke yesterday, which it said were related to trading in equities and spread betting. The watchdog says that the incidents took place over a nine year [...]
Speed bump in UK recovery as retail sales dip June 25, 2014 UK RETAIL sales growth slowed unexpectedly this month, according to a survey released yesterday, with fewer firms reporting expansion than in any other month so far this year. The data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) show that only four percentage points more firms reported growth than contraction in sales so far in June. [...]