Steve Baker MP: Markets are hooked on kremlinology June 30, 2014 Bank of England staffers once used to a series of questions from MPs on parochial constituency matters have had to up their game. Steve Baker, the Conservative member for Wycombe, has just joined the Treasury Select Committee, and has brought with him a refreshing style of interrogation. I spoke to Baker just after his first [...]
Emojli: What’s so great about the emoji-based social network? June 30, 2014 Emoticons frequently supplement online conversations, but have you ever considered communicating in emojis alone? A new app is being developed to let you do just that. Emojli will allow users to communciate in emojis – and only emojis. An iOS app is on the way, and its developers claim it will be able to fix [...]
Higher core Eurozone inflation may allow ECB to “wait and see” June 30, 2014 Inflation in the euro area has held steady in June, static at an annual rate of 0.5 per cent, according to data released by Eurostat. Fears over the disinflationary climate in the Eurozone prompted the European Central Bank (ECB) to take action this month, with president Mario Draghi delivering a package of measures aimed at [...]
UK mortgage approvals just fell to an 11-month low June 30, 2014 UK mortgage approvals fell to an 11-month low of 61,707 in May, according to the latest data from the Bank of England. That's considerably down from April's 62,806 approvals. That figure has been downwardly revised from an initial estimate of 62,806 approvals last month. Mortgage approvals have been trending downwards since hitting a 74-month high [...]
Why Goldman Sachs thinks UK growth is about to take off June 30, 2014 The UK's annual GDP growth could continue at a pace of three per cent next year, according to Goldman Sachs. Upward revisions to the bank's forecast reflect "persistent strength displayed by UK activity indicators". Goldman reports that its current activity indicator (CAI) is consistent with annualised GDP growth of 3.5 to four per cent. The [...]
Finding strength in numbers: Meet SBD Apparel founder Ben Banks June 29, 2014 Peter Spence talks about the powerlifting business with SBD Apparel’s Ben Banks If you've ever come across the extreme world of strength sports, you’ll probably have got your first introduction stumbling through the TV channels on a Boxing Day morning. Last year, more than a million of us tuned in to watch the competitors of [...]
Eurozone confidence slides on geopolitical fears June 27, 2014 The latest data from the European Commission (EC) has shown a drop in headline Eurozone consumer confidence, falling to -7.5 in June. Analysts had expected to see data firm up slightly, with economists forecasting an increase to -6.7 this month from a reading of -7.1 in May. In a preview of today's release, [...]
Third UK growth estimate fails to meet high hopes of analysts June 27, 2014 A third estimate of UK growth has seen first-quarter activity unrevised by economists, static at 0.8 per cent in the first three months of this year on the last quarter of 2013. Data from the Office for National Statistics remained in line with the second estimate of GDP, which also saw growth unrevised at 0.8 [...]
Bank of England imposes limits on high loan-to-income mortgages June 26, 2014 The Bank of England has introduced new mortgage controls, in an attempt to contain possible risks to the UK's financial system. New limits will apply from 1 October, and will see that no more than 15 per cent of mortgages issued should exceed a loan-to-income ratio of 4.5. Currently only 11 per cent of UK [...]
Glencore share price higher as miner’s appointment frees FTSE 100 of all-male boards June 26, 2014 Miner Glencore Xstrata has finally appointed a woman to its board of directors, and investors seem to like the news. Shares moved around one per cent higher in early trading as the miner finally responded to pressure, adding mining veteran Patrice Merrin to its board with immediate effect. Merrin brings with her a wealth of [...]