UK services growth hits 2006 high August 5, 2013 The UK's service sector is growing at its fastest pace since 2006, according to new survey data from Markit. A jump in the services purchasing manager's index defied lower analyst estimates, as the index rose from 56.9 to 60.2. Economists had forecast an increase to just 57.2. Analysts have suggested that the leap in activity [...]
Barclays appoints banks to £5.8bn rights issue syndicate August 5, 2013 Barclays has announced the appointment of additional underwrites and joint bookrunners for a rights issue intended to raise £5.8bn (release). It's a long list, and will probably mean some hefty fees for Barclays to pay: BN AMRO Bank N.V., Banco Santander S.A., BNP Paribas, ING Bank N.V., J.P. Morgan Securities plc (which conducts its UK [...]
UK services boom: Sector grows at fastest rate since 2006 August 5, 2013 The UK's service sector is booming, as shown by Markit's purchasing manager's index (PMI). In July the index rose from 56.9 to a whopping 60.2. For context, we've not seen a PMI number that breaks 60 in a long time across the Eurozone or the US. Economists had forecast a rise to 57.2. There are [...]
Stabilisation of European activity suggests the recession could be over August 5, 2013 New figures from Markit confirm that the Eurozone's order books are back to expansion. Beating economist predictions by a whisker, a composite purchasing manager's index number of 50.5. Economists had forecast a rise to 50.4, from 48.7 last month. Nations ranked by all-sector output growth (Jul): Germany 52.1, 5-month high Italy 49.7, 26-month high France [...]
German service sector expansion accelerates in July August 5, 2013 The German services sector has picked up in July, and the expansion is accelerating according to Markit. However, that rise is much less than analysts had forecast, with purchasing manager's index jumping from 50.4 to 52.5. Economists had predicted a rise to 52.5. Commenting on the survey data, Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit and [...]
French services outlook hits an 11 month high August 5, 2013 The French service sector is closing in on stagnation in July, with a Markit purchasing manager's index (PMI) figure of 48.6. Economists had predicted a rise to just 48.3, from 47.2 last month. Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Markit and author of the France services PMI said: The French service sector made a further move [...]
Italian services see moderated decline in July August 5, 2013 The decline in the Italian services sector has moderated slightly in July. Markit/ADACI's purchasing manager's index (PMI) has risen from 45.8 to 48.7. Analysts had forecast a much smaller rise to 46.5. Phil Smith, economist at Markit and author of the Italy services PMI said: The downturn in Italy’s service sector lost momentum in July, [...]
Spanish service sector sees weakest fall in activity in two years August 5, 2013 The Spanish services sector is looking better, with a rise from 47.8 to 48.5. That's slightly ahead of forecasts, with analysts predicting a rise to 48.2. While still below 50, the sector can still be seen as contracting, but the pace of that contraction has slowed down a little. This is the slightest fall in [...]
The Swedish services sector just smashed expectations August 5, 2013 Sometimes analyst get it wrong. Their prediction for the Swedish services number this morning was really, really wrong. Rather than a purchasing manager's index of 46.7, the index rose from 44.9 to a whopping 56.6 in July, a massive rise of 11.7 points. While the krona performed well on the news, it has now retraced [...]
Before the open – 05/08 August 5, 2013 We're expecting European markets to open slightly higher. There's been muted activity in Asian markets after a weaker than expected US jobs report on Friday. Indian services PMI fell to its lowest level since 2009 of 47.9, dropping below the crucial 50 level for the first time since that date, implying that the sector is [...]
