The Crime Lord: Peter Capaldi on the manosphere, London and rocking out with his band as he approaches 70
Venezuela, “world’s worst performing economy”, appoints second finance minister in a month February 17, 2016 Nothing says stability like burning through two finance ministers in a month. And so it is of course hugely surprising that Venezuela – the country whose economy is in its worst state since 1940 and which recently topped a global misery index for the third year in a row – has done exactly that. President Nicolás Maduro – the [...]
As consumer price index inflation reaches a 12-month high, should we expect price rises to accelerate? February 17, 2016 Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. Yes – but not by much, and not because of any inflationary pressures in the underlying economy. The headline rate of inflation continues to be largely driven by volatile fuel prices. Throughout 2015, fuel prices were registering double-digit falls compared with a year earlier. But given how [...]
ONS consumer price index: Motor fuel helps send UK inflation up by 0.3 per cent in January February 16, 2016 Petrol prices helped Britain's annual inflation rate inch up to a 12-month high in January, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 per cent in the year to January, up from 0.2 per cent in December, and in line with economists' expectations. This means prices rose 7.9 per cent [...]
Legal & General buys Marston’s headquarters and pubs for £35m February 9, 2016 Legal and General has snapped up Marston's headquarters as well as a portfolio of pubs for £34.6m, in another example of buoyant M&A activity in the sector. The pension fund manager said its property arm LGP has completed a sale and leaseback of seven Marston's pubs for £25.32m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.15 per cent. Read more: Pubs [...]
Eurozone economy comes off the boil in January despite rebound in end-of-year retail sales February 3, 2016 The Eurozone's economic recovery slowed in January, but remains at a steady pace, new figures show today. Markit's economy-wide purchasing managers' index – compiled from a survey of firms – dropped to a score of 53.6 in January from the previous month's 54.2. While the figure is still above 50, which means the economy grew last month, it [...]
The US Federal Reserve’s favourite measure of inflation is at its highest for a year February 1, 2016 The US central bank's favourite measure of inflation held steady in December, according to figures released today. Prices, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, dropped slightly in December, but were up 0.6 per cent year-on-year, the fastest rate for 12 months. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said that core PCE, which excludes food and energy, [...]
Eurozone inflation edges up to 0.4 per cent but is still way off the European Central Bank’s target January 29, 2016 Eurozone inflation crept up slightly to 0.4 per cent in January, but remains far from the European Central Bank’s target of just under two per cent. Consumer prices grew from a rate of 0.2 per cent in December, according to official figures from Eurostat. The services sector picked up in January, coming in at 1.2 [...]
Forget a tech bubble: This is the start of 50-year Digital Revolution January 29, 2016 The possibility that we are in a “tech bubble” is a hot and much contended issue in both Europe and the US. So why all the concern? Many market analysts and experts, drawing on comparisons with the dot-com crash, are warning of a similar trend in the current tech industry, characterised by inflated company valuations [...]
Blockchain technology is useful – just not for everything January 20, 2016 You may have heard of blockchains and Bitcoin as exciting new innovations but you’d be forgiven if you’re confused about what they are or their relationship to each other. Blockchains provide a way to store information so that many people can see it, keep a copy of it, and add to it. Once added, it [...]
US inflation rate climbs to highest since 2014 January 20, 2016 US inflation climbed to a rate of 0.7 per cent in December from 0.5 per cent the month before, according to figures released today. The US Bureau of Labor Statisitcs said inflation – as measured by the year-on-year change in the consumer price index – said average food prices had climbed 0.8 per cent while energy prices had [...]