Bernanke says US job growth too low February 9, 2011 US unemployment remains too high for comfort despite the economy showing signs of strengthening recovery, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said. In testimony to the US House of Representatives’ Budget Committee that largely echoed a speech he delivered last week, Bernanke also warned about the dangers of unsustainable budget deficits. But his commitment to [...]
VAT shock yet to be passed to consumers February 8, 2011 INFLATION in UK shops rose to 2.5 per cent in January – from 2.1 per cent in December — despite retailers absorbing much of the hike in VAT, a comprehensive survey revealed today. Even more price pressure could spill through to consumers in the coming months, the British Retail Consortium warned. “Retailers generally took the [...]
The screws are tightening, but it’s not torture yet February 8, 2011 CHINESE interest rate rises are, it seems, rather like coffee. The effect gets smaller with each extra dose. When the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) first announced an interest rate increase in mid-October last year, the trade-weighted dollar strengthened 1.7 per cent. The second rate rise, announced on Christmas day, produced a smaller reaction, but [...]
China raises interest rates February 8, 2011 China raised interest rates for the second time in just over six weeks, intensifying a battle in the fast-expanding economy against stubbornly high inflation that threatens to unsettle global markets. The timing was a surprise, coming on the final day of China’s Lunar New Year holiday, but investors have long expected more monetary tightening as [...]
Rising commodity prices have further to go February 6, 2011 FOR two weeks our headlines and television sets have been dominated by Egypt. Prior to the scenes in Tahrir Square, all eyes were on Tunisia; contagion is spreading across the Middle East. So what role did rising food costs play in pushing the region to the brink? And how can citizens be expected to understand [...]
FREW STEPS UP FOR THE 30 PER CENT CLUB CAUSE February 3, 2011 GOOD news – of a kind. The 30% Club has finally found a female chairman to join its ranks. For those not au fait with the club’s goings-on, it was founded to pursue the “aspiration” of getting boards at the UK’s top companies to be at least 30 per cent female by 2015. While the [...]
Manufacturing grows at record pace February 1, 2011 Manufacturing activity grew in January at its fastest pace since records began in 1992, and factory costs also surged, in a further sign that price pressures are building in the economy, a survey showed. Employment in the manufacturing sector also rose at the quickest pace since the records began. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index [...]
All eyes on ECB as Eurozone inflation hits 27-month high January 31, 2011 THE euro jumped to a session high against the dollar yesterday, after surprisingly high inflation data increased the risk of a hike in interest rates. Consumer price inflation across the Eurozone hit 2.4 per cent in January, according to a “flash” estimate by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office. Inflation in the single currency area had [...]
Trichet’s hawkishness appears to be a bluff January 31, 2011 WAS Jean-Claude Trichet’s hawkishness on inflation earlier this month a bluff? He sounded tough until the market reacted, but then rolled back the strength of what he said, leaving us hanging in suspense. Now with European inflation rates hitting 2.4 per cent in January – the highest level for more than two years (see chart) [...]
FED HAS DONE A GOOD JOB ON US EQUITIES January 31, 2011 THE Federal Reserve has so far done an excellent job of goosing US equities through its ongoing asset purchase programme. As Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has intimated, boosting stock prices is now one of the Reserve’s aims, on top of its officially mandated dual role of ensuring price stability and full employment. So investors were [...]