Export increase for Japan raises hopes for third quarter growth August 20, 2014 JAPAN’S exporters recorded a welcome jump in sales this July, with outward trade up by 3.9 per cent since the same month last year, a positive signal after a sales tax hike was brought in by the government earlier this year. Imports to the country also grew in the year to July, up by 2.3 [...]
Dreary month for Eurozone’s building firms August 20, 2014 THE EUROZONE’S construction sector recorded another slump in June, driven by a decline in Spain, according to official figures released yesterday. Overall, construction output dropped by 0.7 per cent from May alone, and by 2.3 per cent from the same month last year. Spain, which has seen extremely rapid growth in the construction industry over [...]
Moscow McDonalds shuttered as Russian government intervenes August 20, 2014 THE RUSSIAN government closed down four McDonalds outlets in Moscow yesterday, following a round of sanctions against western agricultural products. The government said that the closures, which included the first McDonalds ever opened in the country, were due to unsanitary conditions discovered by the Russian public health authority. The Russian arm of McDonalds said in [...]
Inflation drop takes the pressure off Bank on rate hike August 19, 2014 INFLATION fell back again in July, according to official figures released yesterday, easing the pressure on the Bank of England’s policymakers to tighten their stance and weakening sterling The consumer price index (CPI) rose by just 1.6 per cent in the year to July, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure dropped from [...]
Cash strapped commuters brace for ticket price hike August 19, 2014 RAIL fares set by the government could rise by 3.5 per cent next year, pushing commuting costs up at much more than average earnings. Figures released yesterday showed that the retail prices index (RPI), a measure of inflation, rose by 2.5 per cent in the year to July. The government typically uses the measure plus [...]
London house prices ready to break through £500,000 mark August 19, 2014 House price growth dipped slightly in June, while the average property in the capital climbed to just shy of £500,000, according to figures released yesterday. Prices across the UK as a whole still rose in the year to June, up by 10.2 per cent, but the figure was a slight drop from May’s 10.7 per [...]
Two-thirds of employers report hiring an under-25 in last year August 19, 2014 Two-thirds of employers have hired someone under 25 during the last year, assisting the recent decline in youth unemployment, according to research released this morning. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), 64 per cent of firms employed a young person in the past 12 months. “It’s the best time in six years to [...]
Brussels set to make payouts for farmers hit by Putin’s sanctions August 18, 2014 EUROZONE fruit and vegetable farmers hit by the Russian government’s food sanctions are set for a payout, with Brussels pledging €125m (£99.9m) in compensation to those affected yesterday. The action is designed to help prop up food prices in the single market. Dacian Ciolos, the EU’s agriculture commissioner, said that the action was meant to [...]
UK’s industrial firms named as regional stars of world’s manufacturing sector August 18, 2014 UK factories are in a sweet spot, according to a report on global industrial conditions released this morning, with companies re-shoring to an increasingly competitive UK manufacturing sector. The Boston Consulting Group released research on the state of the world’s manufacturing sector this morning, calling the UK a “rising regional star”. The authors also say [...]
Deepening concerns for Chinese economy as 64 cities report falling property prices in July August 18, 2014 The Chinese property market’s slowdown is starting to alarm analysts, with more cities now reporting falling prices than at any time since at least a decade ago. Official figures showed that prices were falling in 64 cities during July, against only two cities where prices were rising. Prices in Beijing also dropped for the first [...]