Barclays raise concerns over Bramson’s shareholding with Bank of England and US Fed March 31, 2019 Barclays has raised concerns with the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve over activist investor Ed Bramson’s shareholding. The US-based investor has ensured his holding is hedged by time-limited derivatives, limiting his exposure to a fall in the company’s share price as he pushes for a seat on the board next month. Read more: [...]
Growth in key US inflation rate slows in sign of cooling economy March 29, 2019 A key measure of US inflation rose 1.8 per cent in January compared to a year earlier, its slowest rate of growth since February 2018, figures released today showed. Read more: US economic growth unexpectedly slows in final quarter Consumer spending increased by 0.1 per cent in January compared to December, recovering from a 0.6 [...]
DEBATE: Should a General Election follow the appointment of a new Tory leader and Prime Minister? March 29, 2019 Should a General Election follow the appointment of a new Tory leader and Prime Minister? Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says YES. There is no constitutional requirement for anyone who takes over as Prime Minister to call a General Election, although one could be forced upon them were they to [...]
US economic growth unexpectedly slows in final quarter March 28, 2019 America’s economic output grew more slowly than previously expected in the final quarter of 2018, at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent, figures released today showed. The 2.2 per cent figure, which amounts to 0.55 per cent GDP growth in the final quarter compared to the previous quarter, was 0.4 percentage points lower than the [...]
Germany sells 10-year bonds with negative yields for first time since 2016 March 27, 2019 The German government sold 10-year bonds with a negative yield for the first time since 2016 today, as sovereign debt rallies amid global economic gloom. Read more: Draghi says ECB ready to halt rates rises as Eurozone economy struggles The German Finance Agency said the government sold €2.4bn (£2bn) of “bunds” with 10-year maturities with an average [...]
US consumer confidence falls as worries about the economy mount March 26, 2019 US consumer confidence declined in March following an increase in February, the latest data has shown, as Americans raise concerns about the economy The widely-watched consumer confidence index, released today by US business research group The Conference Board, now stands at 124.1, down from 131.4 in February. Read more: Fed slows balance sheet reduction and holds [...]
Britain leads falling European stock markets as US recession risk grows March 25, 2019 European stocks fell today, with Britain's leading the drop, while US equities were volatile as investors weighed up global economic headwinds and recession fears. The US’s S&P 500 was down 0.4 per cent soon after opening at 1.30 pm UK time, but rebounded to rise 0.3 per cent for the day, while the Dow Jones [...]
Asian stocks slump amid fears of global economic slowdown March 25, 2019 Fears of a global economic slowdown took its toll on Asian markets overnight, as stocks slumped amid growing investor caution. Read more: Fed slows balance sheet reduction and holds line on rates Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled 3.1 per cent, as trading opened on Monday after a week of unrest across global markets. Hong [...]
Monetary policy is no job for the politicians March 22, 2019 At a time of such sweeping uncertainty, anything predictable is reassuring. This week, that reassurance came from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, which yesterday voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold. This had been widely expected, but that doesn’t mean that central bank decisions should be taken for granted. Across the Atlantic, the [...]
Energy supplier owed £12m to customers when it went out of business March 21, 2019 Failed supplier Economy Energy owed nearly £12m to customers when it went out of business earlier this year, according to new documents. Filings with Companies House show the company was £67.6m in debt when it entered administration at the beginning of January. Read more: Ofgem bans E from buying customers from failed provider Economy Energy [...]