Carney rate rise comments sends sterling stumbling March 12, 2015 BANK of England governor Mark Carney yesterday said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. Sterling dropped on the comments – it fell by 0.5 per cent against the dollar yesterday to a low of $1.4850. It marks [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney says global deflation forces, strong sterling could delay rate hike March 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. "It may be appropriate to take into account persistent external deflationary forces arising from the combination of continued foreign low inflation and the [...]
Backing the USA: Dollar climbs as investors buy into recovery March 11, 2015 Amid much talk of a US rate hike, Chris Papadopoullos asks if it will happen as quickly as some think The Federal Reserve has a way with words. Last year, it prompted mass market confusion by saying it would wait for a “considerable time” before hiking interest rates. In December, it ditched the term and [...]
Mark Carney says talk of cut to interest rate is overblown March 10, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday implied that talks of a cut in interest rates nearer to zero were overblown. He also ruled out cancelling government debt held by the Bank to reduce the headline figure. Policy makers will “look through” falls in energy and food prices that would keep inflation below target this [...]
US non-farm payroll: Economy adds 295,000 jobs in February March 6, 2015 The US economy was inoculated from last month's bout of bad weather as jobs growth smashed expectations. Figures released by the Labour Department today showed that the US economy added 295,000 jobs in February, which was up from the 257,000 in January. This was above economists' forecasts of 240,000. This bumper figure pushed the dollar [...]
Low pay and inflation deter rate hike March 4, 2015 CITY A.M.’s panel of economists voted seven to two to hold the Bank of England’s base rate at 0.5 per cent this month. This week’s guest chair, former UK rate-setter David Blanchflower, highlighted the fact that the next move in interest rates could be a downward one. The Bank has said lowering rates is now possible [...]
Earnings finally return to their pre-crisis levels March 3, 2015 INCOMES have finally recovered to pre-recession levels, new research reveals today. Projections from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggest average median household income in the year to April 2015 (2014-15) is at around the same level it was in 2007-08, before the recession. The figures are adjusted for changes in the prices of goods [...]
No sex, no French fries and lots of queues: Venezuela tops the world’s misery index for 2015 March 3, 2015 Ukraine, Greece and Spain are the most depressed countries in Europe – but all the world's economies are outshadowed by the gloomy Venezuelans, which have topped the misery index for a second year running. It should perhaps come as no surprise that Venezuela's population is so unhappy – people have been taking to the streets [...]
Eurozone consumer price index falls for third month in February March 2, 2015 Consumer prices fell across the Eurozone for the third month running in February, according to a flash estimate. However, the rate inched up on the previous month. Annual consumer price inflation was -0.3 per cent, mildly better than the -0.4 per cent economists had forecast, the European Union's statistics agency said. This follows a fall [...]
Janet Yellen: Markets unmoved amid second day of testimony February 25, 2015 Markets were largely unconcerned during the second day of testimony by Federal reserve chair Janet Yellen, who is speaking before the Senate Bank Committee. The S&P 500 was trading flat today at 2114.97 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also remained flat. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 per cent, while the French [...]