Britain must boost investment in skills beyond apprenticeship levy to compete with Europe after Brexit, according to report February 18, 2017 The UK must significantly increase its skills investment beyond plans for the apprenticeship levy if it is to compete with European rivals in the post-Brexit world economy, according to a new report. The government’s new apprenticeship levy will not bring employer investment in skills up to levels seen before the financial crisis, according to the [...]
Britons spend £19,000 every year on bills February 17, 2017 British families spend almost three-quarters of an average wage on bills and accommodation, according to a new study. The average family in the UK spends £19,142.37 on the basics for a fully functioning home, including mortgages or rent, insurance, gas, and electricity, according to a study by Powershop UK. Utility bills on average comprised £520 [...]
Retail sales fall during January as economists expect inflation to drag further on spending February 17, 2017 Retail sales grew at the slowest pace in more than three years, with economists pointing to inflationary pressure starting to weigh on consumer spending. Sales fell by 0.3 per cent month-on-month during January, with 1.5 per cent annual growth the slowest since November 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics. Sales also declined quarter-on-quarter, [...]
Bank of England pushes back date for changes to Sonia, an alternative to Libor for some contracts February 16, 2017 The Bank of England today announced it was delaying changes to the way a key interest rate benchmark is calculated. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street was due to implement changes for how the Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia) is calculated by the end of this year, but announced this morning the new calculations would instead be [...]
Productivity rises consecutively for a year but slow growth will provide little boost to UK wages February 15, 2017 Productivity in the UK recorded a year of consecutive improvements for the first time in more than five years, despite slowing slightly in the final three months of 2016. Output per hour grew by 0.3 per cent in the three months to December, according to preliminary estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a slowdown [...]
Bank of England: Sorry, vegans. We’re keeping the polymer £5 note February 15, 2017 The Bank of England is keeping the £5 note – despite concerns from animal activists, it said today. Veggies were outraged in November after it emerged the plastic fiver, which was launched in September, contained tiny amounts of tallow, a form of animal fat. After a consultation, the Bank has not only said it's going [...]
Real wage growth lowest since 2014 as inflation starts to bite February 15, 2017 Wage growth for British workers has slowed as inflation pushed down real earnings to their slowest increase since December 2014. Average weekly earnings grew by 2.6 per cent in the year to December before inflation is taken into account, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, when the increasing cost of living is added [...]
It’s time for diversity at the Bank of England February 15, 2017 The financial crash knocked some of the stuffing out of the economics profession, though you wouldn’t know it given the confidence with which economists still parade their forecasts. A few – especially those with a monetarist or Austrian inclination – publicly expressed concern about policy in 2005-2007, but nobody from the mainstream predicted a financial meltdown. [...]
Now German businesses are calling for post-Brexit partnership with UK February 14, 2017 Firms in Germany want to maintain strong ties with the UK once it departs the EU, the managing director of one of the country's major industry groups has said. "Ideally, we would have a deep and comprehensive partnership agreement on investment and trade," said Markus Kerber of BDI, according to Reuters. Kerber warned the fallout from Brexit could disrupt [...]
This Deutsche Bank analyst thinks the pound could fall another 16 per cent against the dollar February 14, 2017 The pound's dip today may have left some investors a little shaken – but you ain't seen nothing yet, one Deutsche Bank analyst has warned. George Saravelos, the lender's global co-head of FX, said in a Bloomberg interview that the pound could fall as low as $1.05 – or another 16 per cent. "Being bearish [...]