Berlin-EU clash is looming over currency union’s fiscal rules August 18, 2014 A clash between the major Eurozone economies over the currency union’s fiscal rules is looming, according to one of the leading German politicians in Angela Merkel’s party. Norbert Barthle told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Berlin was heading for a confrontation with the social democratic governments of Italy and France over Europe’s fiscal compact. Barthle [...]
Euro area challenged by French failure to meet deficit targets August 18, 2014 The French government’s admission that it will not be able to reach its deficit targets for the year is a negative signal for the Eurozone, according to credit ratings agency Moody’s. In a briefing note yesterday, Moody’s analysts said that France’s inability to reach deficit targets would prove a test of the Eurozone’s capability to [...]
London house prices continue to fall as cooling property market spurs rush to sell August 18, 2014 London house prices are falling for a third month in a row, according to a major property site, the latest sign of a groundswell of sellers flooding the market. New selling prices dropped 5.9 per cent between July and August, according to Rightmove. Although prices are still 10.3 per cent higher than in the [...]
Retailers return to stores even as footfall dips August 17, 2014 UK high streets are getting less and less empty as the economic recovery continues, even as fewer shoppers actually head for shops. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard revealed this morning that the vacancy rate in UK town centres had dropped to just 10.1 per cent in July, half a percentage point down from [...]
Ebola outbreak and Ukraine conflict pose threats even as supply chain risk drops to 18-month low August 17, 2014 Geopolitical and major disease risks have had less effect than widely believed on the world economy, with supply chains at their least risky levels for a year and a half. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), supply chain risk dropped to an 18-month low in the second quarter of the year, [...]
Solid quarter for builders August 17, 2014 THE CONSTRUCTION Products Association reported today that the sector saw strongest rate of growth in new work since the before the crisis during the second quarter. The group’s economics director, Noble Francis, said that private new housing was the key driver of construction activity. A net 41 per cent of contractors reported that private housing [...]
Janet Yellen to give debut speech at Jackson Hole monetary policy forum August 17, 2014 The annual American monetary policy gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming will get underway this week, Janet Yellen’s first as chair of the US Federal Reserve. The events, which begin on Thursday, are centred on the topic of “re-evaluating labour market dynamics” this year. The Federal Reserve chair typically gives a speech on the Friday morning [...]
Eurozone recovery comes to stand still as growth stalls, inflation flatlines and debt piles up August 14, 2014 The Eurozone’s already feeble recovery came to a complete halt in the second quarter, with the threat of deflation and growing piles of debt leaving the currency bloc exposed to economic shocks. Dreary figures released yesterday showed that the euro area did not grow at all in the three months to June, while the previously [...]
Home repossessions slide to lowest since crisis ahead of interest rate hike August 14, 2014 The lowest number of homes were repossessed in the first half of 2014 than in any six month period since 2006, according to figures released yesterday. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday showed that 11,800 homes were repossessed in the first half of the year, down from 15,600 in the first half of 2013. [...]
Visitors to UK shelling out but British tourists spending less August 14, 2014 British tourists are spending less and less money when they travel abroad, while people travelling to the UK are boosting the amount they shell out here, according to official figures released yesterday. Although the number of people travelling out of the UK climbed by five per cent during the first six months of the year, [...]