Deflation station: Fidelity International’s Maike Currie explains where to invest in a world of no inflation November 18, 2015 It is likely that I will have to write further open letters to you over the coming months…” If you think these are the words of a hopeless romantic penning a letter to their long-distance love, you’re wrong. It’s the Bank of England governor Mark Carney, writing to chancellor George Osborne to explain why [...]
US inflation rises to 0.2 per cent in October as energy prices halt their decline as core inflation stays at 1.9 per cent November 17, 2015 Annual inflation in the US climbed to 0.2 per cent in October from zero per cent in September as energy prices rebounded and medical costs climbed. Compared with September, the consumer price index – the basket of goods and services used to measure inflation – climbed 0.2 per cent, lifting the annual figure. Energy prices [...]
UK inflation stays at -0.1 per cent in October as food and booze prices fall November 17, 2015 Just in time for Christmas. Prices in the UK fell for the second consecutive month in October, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed this morning. The annual inflation rate was -0.1 per cent, led by sharper falls in the prices of food and booze and a slower rise in tobacco prices. Food prices were down three [...]
Japan recession: Has Abenomics failed? not quite November 17, 2015 The latest data from Japan revealed that the world’s third largest economy slipped back into recession in the past quarter, at least technically. Has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “three arrows” plan to revive the Japanese economy – Abenomics – failed in spectacular fashion? Well, yes and no. MIXED PICTURE Let’s start with the economy. [...]
Rising rents mean that by 2020 over 25 per cent of consumer spending will be on household and utility bills November 11, 2015 Housing and utility bills will account for over a quarter of total UK consumer spending by 2020. Household expenses is the fastest-growing category of consumer spending, increasing at a rate of 3.5 per cent a year, compared to spending on food, which will drop 0.4 per cent a year by 2020. Higher spending reflects rising rent [...]
Christmas 2015: Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda predicted to clean up this festive season – but Aldi, M&S and Lidl will beat Morrisons November 10, 2015 Black Friday might be set to be less of a big deal this year but Christmas is going nowhere. In fact, the UK is expected to spend £16.5bn on food, drink and presents during the festive season – up 2.5 per cent from last year. That's an average of £442 per person, according to data from [...]
UK Christmas sales 2015: Consumer spending soars as retailers worry over upcoming figures November 9, 2015 A double-whammy of sales data has suggested we could be in for bumper Christmas sales figures. Card giants Visa and Barclaycard both report that spending bounced back from a summer slow down in October. Visa’s index found spending growth rose to a three-month high last month, up 2.1 per cent, while Barclaycard revealed spending growth [...]
With Japan’s economy likely to have entered a technical recession, has Abenomics failed? November 8, 2015 Freya Beamish, an economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes. Abenomics is failing, but the technical recession doesn't prove it so much as confirm Japan's exposure to China. In fact, Shinzo Abe has achieved some significant successes: strides have been made in improving corporate governance, although there is still a long way to go; the [...]
Bank of England interest rates: Why the MPC must raise the UK’s interest rates, instead of continuing to twiddle their thumbs November 5, 2015 Today, to the surprise of no one, the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left interest rates at their current level of 0.5 per cent, its view justified by headline inflation that is, to all intent and purpose, zero per cent. This may appear sensible on the face of it – after all, why should [...]
Bank’s super Thursday could cause fireworks – London Report November 1, 2015 HSBC was this morning the latest UK bank to report results, with Standard Chartered rounding off third quarter earnings season tomorrow. There are concerns the emerging market focused Standard Chartered will have taken a hit over the past three months due to the slowing economy in China and fears surrounding emerging market growth. The bank’s [...]