Mortgage approvals drop to lowest level since October March 31, 2014 Mortgage approvals down a touch, according to the Bank of England's latest release. Their number has fallen from 76,753 to 70,309. Economists had predicted that we'd see a drop to just 75,250. Last month's figure also reveals some weakness, as the latest estimate sees it revised down from 76,947 to 70,309. Steve Collins, global head [...]
This week’s 5 must-see charts March 28, 2014 The next UK debt crisis, an uncertain future for the services sector, copper’s decline, and the euro’s enduring strength. We bring you some of our favourite analysts’ picks of the most important graphs this week. Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Does this look familiar? The Office for Budget Responsibility expects a major rise in [...]
Microsoft’s new CEO has revealed his first big strategic play: Office for mobile March 27, 2014 Microsoft is finally bringing its Office suite to Apple's App Store, with support for devices including the iPad and iPhone. It's a same day launch, and you can already find the Excel, Word, and PowerPoint apps online. The reveal from the tech giant's new CEO, Satya Nadella, is his first since he took the company's [...]
€22 per pensioner – the cost of new EU rules on UK PLC March 27, 2014 One easy way to gauge the complexity of any new government rules change is to count how many clauses or sub-sections they contain. In the case of new EU rules on pension schemes unveiled today, they have ballooned, from 24 articles and rules to 81 articles – leading to much higher costs for pension schemes. [...]
How Everton’s £30m loan gamble may be about to pay off March 27, 2014 Everton’s surge towards a precious Champions League place is not just the latest twist in a tortuous campaign, it’s also the climax to an audacious gamble by Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard has relied heavily on three players this term, according to analysis by Kickdex – none of whom are contracted to be at the club [...]
Failed stress test hits RBS’ chances of fast Citizens sale March 27, 2014 RBS’ shares fell this morning after its US arm Citizens failed a Fed stress test, knocking the bank’s chances of a quick sale to another lender. Although the main plan is to float the bank, it has been in early-stage talks with other banks including Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui over a trade sale. But failing the [...]
Ofgem confirms companies are avoiding UK energy market due to political concerns March 27, 2014 A number of companies have chosen not to enter the UK retail energy market due to the current political environment, Ofgem confirmed today. As part of its long-awaited assessment of energy market competition, the regulator spoke to various firms who had chosen not to tap into the sector. “A consistent reason for not entering was [...]
Reading gets a Crossrail station and a plan for a garden city March 27, 2014 Reading’s reputation as a dormitory town for London is getting even stronger, with a link to the new Crossrail service announced today and a call for 30,000 more homes to be built to ease the housing shortage in and around the capital. The Berkshire town, population 155,700, will be the final stop for two trains [...]
US economic growth revised up by statisticians March 27, 2014 Growth in the US has been a little more spectacular than we thought. Estimates of GDP expansion for the fourth quarter of 2013 have been revised up from to an annualised 2.6 per cent, from an initial estimate of 2.4 per cent. Much of the upward momentum came from a big revision to personal consumption, [...]
Retail sales growth beats expectations in February March 27, 2014 Latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics show some strong numbers for retail this February. Up 1.7 after growth of -2.0 per cent last month, that's much higher than economists had expected. Consensus estimates suggested we'd see growth of just 0.5 per cent this month. HSBC say that while recent lower growth might look [...]
