Npower announces 11.1 per cent gas bill increase October 21, 2013 Electricity supplier Npower has announced that it will raise gas prices by 11.1 per cent. Dual fuel bills will increase by 10.4 per cent. Electricty prices will rise by 9.3 per cent (release). Those increases will take effect on 1 December, and will see the typical dual fuel bill rise to £1,459. Last year Npower [...]
Co-op Bank PPI bill set to go higher as it sets aside further £100m for conduct costs October 21, 2013 The troubled Co-operative Bank has made a reassessment of its expected future conduct costs, and has increased its provisions by £100-105m accordingly (release). That money should cover the "future costs of PPI redress, arrears charges and the processing of certain mortgage interest 'first payments'". Banks have so far set aside £16bn to deal with PPI [...]
As Google shares pass $1,000 analysts says the company remains a top pick October 18, 2013 Shares in internet giant Google have passed the $1,000 mark after unveiling stunning results last night. Google beat expectations with net profits growing by 36 per cent to $2.97bn (£1.2bn) in the three months to 30 September. That number was well ahead of consensus profit forecasts. Those results have seen Google add over $35bn to [...]
EU and Canada agree free trade deal October 18, 2013 The European Union and Canada have agreed a major free trade deal. The deal comes after four years of negotiation and is the first of its kind between the EU and a G7 country. It is expected to generate £17.42bn through trade and new business. President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso and Canadian [...]
EU commission authorises investigation into Holcim-Cemex deal October 18, 2013 The European Commission has authorised anti-trust regulators to investigate the planned acquisition of cement giant Holcim's Spanish operations, by Mexican cement company Cemex. In a press release issued on Friday, the Commission asserted the deal could threaten competition in the Spanish cement market. The Commission will ask Cemex to notify the project. The acquisition of [...]
Bank of England launches Twitter Q&A October 18, 2013 Following yesterday's social media disaster for British Gas, Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale is replying to questions on Twitter. You can track the questions with #AskBoE, and we have some of Dale's replies below. @bankofengland Why are you meeting every month when interest rates r on hold for around 2 years? — [...]
Eurozone outlook improves as austerity eases says Berenberg October 18, 2013 The decline in austerity will be one of the biggest contributors to growth in the Eurozone, according to a report published by Berenberg on Friday. The IMF has forecast that the fiscal drag on the Eurozone, due to austerity policies, will fall from 1.3 per cent in 2011-13 to 0.3 per cent in 2014. Berenberg [...]
Confirmation of high Chinese growth lifts European markets October 18, 2013 The Chinese economy has posted a thumping 7.8 per cent annual growth for the third quarter of 2013. That's in-line with consensus forecasts, and an acceleration from the 7.5 per cent growth posted last quarter. Unless the fourth quarter sees a ghastly GDP number, China will hit the government's target of 7.5 per cent growth [...]
QE is working says Bank of Japan governor October 18, 2013 Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor, Haruhiko Kuroda has claimed that quantitative easing is working and Japan's economic recovery will continue. Speaking to credit cooperative officials, the BoJ governor said: The BoJ will continue with quantitative and qualitative easing, aiming to achieve the price stability target of two per cent, as long as it is necessary [...]
Will they/Won’t they? US macro data may not be released for weeks as government reopens October 17, 2013 We've been more or less flying blind without US macroeconomic data during the shutdown – now market watchers are trying to work out when new data will be released. Analysts at Deutsche Bank have suggested that we're going to see all of those reports hit at once. Brett Ryan of Deutsche Bank said that "when [...]
