British luxury sector to grow by £51bn by 2019 despite China cuts August 31, 2015 BRITAIN’S luxury goods industry is expected to grow by 60 per cent to £51bn over the next four years, new research shows, defying fears of a slowdown among big Chinese spenders and other emerging markets. The sector contributed £32.2bn in sales in 2013, valuing the sector at 2.2 per cent of the UK’s GDP, according [...]
European stocks drop on Chinese economy fears – Europe Report August 31, 2015 EUROPEAN shares suffered their worst monthly performance in four years yesterday, as concerns over a Chinese economic slowdown and a possible US interest rate rise hit the region’s stock markets. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.2 per cent to record a monthly loss of nine per cent – its worst monthly performance since [...]
Wall St closes worst month in three years – New York Report August 31, 2015 WALL Street wrapped up its worst month since 2012 yesterday on a sour note after comments from a senior Federal Reserve official heightened fears among investors of a potential US interest hike in September. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.69 per cent to end at 16,528.03 points and the S&P 500 fell 0.84 per [...]
Instability may put Fed hike on ice August 31, 2015 With oil so cheap, rising employment may not boost US inflation WHEN global markets dived last week, $900bn was wiped off the S&P 500 on Monday and Tuesday alone, and the prospect of a Fed rate hike in September went from consensus view to highly unlikely. But the end of the week brought promising news [...]
The economic risks looming for small firms – Investec Comment August 31, 2015 Last week’s sharp sell-off in equity markets, apparently sparked by fears over the health of the Chinese economy, dramatically highlighted the risks to the global economic outlook. But the UK is still likely to enjoy moderate growth for at least the next two years. The CBI last week upgraded its UK forecasts for 2015 and [...]
FTSE 100 closes higher after tumultuous week August 28, 2015 After a week spent yo-yoing between losses and gains, the FTSE 100 made up all its losses, closing at 6,247.9 points today – 0.9 higher than yesterday's close, and 60 points higher than it finished last week. Global markets were all hit on Monday after weaker than expected manufacturing data prompted fears of an economic [...]
FTSE recoups week’s losses as strong US data calms markets – London Report August 28, 2015 THE FTSE 100 rose yesterday recouping all of its losses from this week’s bruising sell-off after strong US data calmed global markets rocked by concerns over Chinese growth. The index closed up 212.83 points, or 3.6 per cent, at 6,192.03, shadowing gains made on Wall Street and in Chinese stocks. It was broadly in line [...]
China’s greatest crisis since the 1980s promises more dark days ahead August 27, 2015 With more than $5 trillion wiped off global stock markets since 11 August, “Black Monday” this week saw declines of historic proportions, driven by concerns over the Chinese economy. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has subsequently cut interest rates and eased lending rules for banks in a much-anticipated move to stem the market [...]
US GDP grew by much more than previously estimated in the second quarter August 27, 2015 The dollar jumped against a basket of currencies after revised data released today showed the US economy grew much more than previously estimated in the second quarter. The US commerce department said annual GDP rose 3.7 per cent between April and June, up from 2.3 per cent initially reported. It was buoyed by strong domestic demand, [...]
This is why the world needs Facebook M: Its new AI and people-powered virtual personal assistant in Messenger app could be better than Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now August 27, 2015 Soon Facebook will be able to answer any question you have, book a restaurant on your behalf and give you the weather forecast for the day. The social network is working on creating its very own virtual assistant like the already well-known and commonly used Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now. Facebook is testing the service, called [...]