On a roll: Greggs employees to get £7m bonus after ‘exceptional year’ January 8, 2020 Greggs has said it will give staff a special £7m bonus payment following a “phenomenal” year when the launch of its wildly popular vegan sausage roll helped bring in a higher than expected profit. In a trading update issued this morning, Greggs raised its profit forecast for the 12 months ending 28 December 2019, calling [...]
UK inflation rate holds steady at 1.5 per cent December 18, 2019 UK inflation remained steady at 1.5 per cent in November, marking no change from October, according to official data released today. While the figure is slightly higher than expectations of 1.4 per cent, it remains below the Bank of England’s target of two per cent. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) saw its biggest contributions from [...]
Outlook 2020: Global economy December 16, 2019 The global economy should perform better in 2020, underpinned by a US-China trade truce and lower interest rates, Schroders’ chief economist Keith Wade explains. We recently upgraded our 2020 global growth forecast to 2.6 per cent, due to prospects of a “phase one” US-China trade deal and lower US interest rates US interest rate cuts [...]
Federal Reserve ends cycle of cutting interest rates December 11, 2019 The US Federal Reserve left interest rates on hold today, bringing to an end the cutting cycle instigated in July. The decision came after a booming US jobs report on Friday showed that employment rose by its most in ten months in November. The Fed’s target interest rate will stay at between 1.5 and 1.75 [...]
Swine flu helps push Chinese inflation to eight-year high December 10, 2019 Chinese consumer inflation climbed to close to an eight-year high in November, driven by a doubling of pork prices as African Swine Fever ravaged the country’s pig farms, official data showed today. Nonetheless, factory-gate prices fell for the fifth month in a row, highlighting the malaise in the country’s manufacturing sector brought about by the [...]
When did making money in tech become so unfashionable? December 10, 2019 It is commonly accepted that technology companies have irrevocably changed the world we live in. This is especially true in the finance industry where fintech companies are successfully disrupting the status quo, forcing incumbent firms to evolve alongside these new challengers. While competition and technological innovation in any market is to be welcomed with open [...]
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker dies aged 92 December 9, 2019 Paul Volcker, the Federal Reserve chairman who slayed rampant US inflation in the 1970s and 1980s, has died aged 92. The towering figure of international finance passed away on Monday, his daughter told the New York Times. He had reportedly been suffering from prostate cancer. Read more: The economy is slowing – can central bankers [...]
The death of yields in six charts October 30, 2019 There has been a relentless downward move in global bond yields since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. This trend – underpinned by highly supportive central bank policies and stubbornly low inflation – has been a defining characteristic of the post-crisis world. Another defining trait of this period, and a landmark for financial markets, has been [...]
UK retail sales growth holds steady as Brexit day approaches October 17, 2019 Growth in UK retail sales held steady in the third quarter of the year, official figures have shown, as shoppers remained cautious in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline. Read more: UK unemployment rate rises as Brexit fears hit labour market Britons bought 0.6 per cent more goods in the second quarter than in [...]
Eurozone inflation falls to three-year low and below half ECB target October 16, 2019 Inflation in the Eurozone fell to its slowest pace in three years in September, official figures showed today, raising fresh concerns over the direction of the single currency area’s economy. Read more: Falling fuel prices hold UK inflation at three-year low Prices grew at just 0.8 per cent in the year to September, below initial [...]