Eurozone inflation and jobs improve but recovery remains fragile, experts warn April 30, 2015 Inflation and unemployment in the Eurozone are gradually improving, but economists warn the currency bloc’s recovery is fragile. Prices failed to fall – or rise – registering zero change in April compared with the same month last year, figures released yesterday by Eurostat reveal. Inflation is now closer to the European Central Bank’s [...]
Growth stalls as parties speed to the finish line April 28, 2015 New preliminary figures released yesterday showed that growth in the UK economy slowed in the first three months of this year. The slowdown could dent the re-election prospects of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, yet economists and business groups played down the significance of the data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that GDP [...]
City Moves for 27 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 26, 2015 Nexus Underwriting Management Group Stuart Rouse has been appointed chief operating officer and chief financial officer (CFO) at the underwriting firm. He has previously served as CFO of Fusion Insurance, CFO of Towergate Underwriting, chief operating officer of Towergate Financial, CFO of Aspen’s managing agency and its insurance division, and latterly group chief operating officer [...]
Low oil prices lead to highest number of first-quarter profit warnings since 2009 April 26, 2015 The low price of oil has caused the number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies to go up, according to a report by Ernst & Young (EY). Since June last year, the price of the commodity has dropped by over 40 per cent and currently stands at $65 per barrel. It's an improvement from [...]
Budget deficit drops but pre-General Election growth could disappoint Tories April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne received a budgetary boost yesterday as figures revealed the government had cut the budget deficit, but weak retail sales could hit a key economic growth figure in the run up to the General Election. Government borrowing – as measured by the public sector net borrowing requirement excluding public sector banks – totalled [...]
The help to buy Isa: How helpful is it and what does it really offer first-time buyers? April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne threw would-be first-time buyers a lifeline in his Budget last month: the Help to Buy Isa has been dubbed a key part of the government’s savings revolution, offering assistance to those who want to get onto the property ladder. Due to come into force this autumn, this new Isa wrapper will mean [...]
2015 may be best year in a decade for UK households April 20, 2015 CONSUMERS are enjoying a boom year as prices stay flat and wages rise, according to analysts at Deloitte who say it could be the best year for households since 2005. And the economy could be accelerating further. Economists at EY today disagreed with the Office for Budget Responsibility and the International Monetary Fund, forecasting a [...]
Slow Eurozone growth weighs on trade deficit April 9, 2015 THE UK’S trade deficit – the amount Britain imports over what it exports – widened in February. The trade deficit in goods and services increased to £2.86bn from £1.54bn the month before, according to data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. It was the result of a £1bn drop in exports to £41.3bn [...]
Birmingham City receivers now weighing up seven takeover bids April 8, 2015 BIRMINGHAM City fans could soon see their club freed from years of boardroom turmoil after the club’s parent company announced it had received two more takeover offers on top of the five already confirmed. In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, receivers Ernst and Young who have been running Birmingham International Holdings Limited [...]
Deflation sets in as shop prices fall even faster April 7, 2015 Shop prices fell at a record pace in March, with clothing and electrical prices diving, and food prices falling faster than ever before. Overall prices fell by 2.1 per cent on the year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), with food prices falling by 0.9 per cent. Those are both the fastest declines in [...]