Boost for GDP as retail sales bounce back October 18, 2012 RETAIL SALES climbed in September, data showed yesterday, defying their flat long-term trend. Sales volumes grew 0.6 per cent between August and September, the Office for National Statistics said, after a 0.1 per cent fall between July and August. This means 2.5 per cent more goods are being sold than a year before. The amount spent [...]
Bank data reveals loans drop despite Funding for Lending October 18, 2012 NET lending was negative in August, statistics showed yesterday, with more businesses paying off debt than taking more out. The net monthly flow of lending to businesses was minus £2.2bn in the month, according to Bank of England data. The total stock of lending shrunk 2.2 per cent at an annualised rate in the three months to [...]
Deloitte says that new capital rules are hitting levels of loans October 18, 2012 TOUGH capital requirements are the main cause of falling bank lending across Europe, according to a major new study out yesterday. Deloitte’s study of 19 institutions found 71 per cent cutting lending to raise capital in order to hit regulatory targets. Deleveraging is particularly marked because banks are struggling to sell off non-core assets as [...]
China grows slower than yearly target for first time since crash October 18, 2012 CHINA’S economy grew more slowly than its yearly forecast for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis, data showed yesterday, but some signs suggest China may be able to reverse its slowdown. GDP grew 7.4 per cent in the third quarter, compared to a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [...]
US new claims jump threatens positive unemployment trend October 18, 2012 NEW unemployment insurance claims in the US rocketed last week, data from the Department of Labor revealed yesterday. Seasonally-adjusted new claims soared 46,000, bringing the total from 342,000 in the week ending 6 October to 388,000 in the week ending 13 October – reversing months of small improvements. This adjusted figure came from a 29,129 increase in [...]
State spending hit by info lack October 18, 2012 The government is hampered in its spending decisions by a lack of information, a report from finance watchdog the National Audit Office said yesterday. Departments are failing to properly integrate their budgets with their corporate plans – one result of which is a wide gulf in the efficiency of capital project spending. In 2010’s spending [...]
Rents slip back in Greater London October 18, 2012 Rents in Greater London slid in the third quarter, data from Move With Us claimed yesterday, but they remained more expensive than the same period a year earlier. By the end of the third quarter, rents in greater London were 4.9 per cent down on the previous quarter at £2,273, but this left them 3.3 [...]
Insurer delay doubles readiness October 18, 2012 Delaying Solvency II regulations for insurers by one year would more than double the number of firms ready for it, research from Ernst & Young suggested yesterday. In a poll of 160 large insurance companies across Europe, 43 per cent indicated they would not be ready for regulations in 2014 but 90 per cent said [...]
Russia’s Evraz hurt by lower steel output October 18, 2012 RUSSIAN steelmaker Evraz yesterday posted a three per cent drop in steel production year on year over the three months to September. The FTSE 250 firm cited lower production at the Vitkovice steel operations in the Czech Republic and Highveld in South Africa for the drop in output. Evraz this month temporarily shut down production [...]
AkzoNobel swings to a €2.4bn net loss as Dulux dogs the firm October 18, 2012 DUTCH paintmaker AkzoNobel yesterday plunged to a quarterly net loss of €2.4bn (£1.95bn) after taking a €2.5bn writedown on its 2008 purchase of Dulux paint maker ICI. The world’s biggest paint manufacturer is also looking for more cost cuts on top of the €500m of savings announced last year to cope with weak consumer and [...]
