The euro is due a respite after a very hard winter April 6, 2010 THE EURO’S winter of discontent started back in January when a huge hole in Greece’s public finances was revealed. Since then allegations of dodgy accounting rules, swap trades with major Wall Street banks and the threat of contagion to other southern European economies has driven the euro to multi-year lows. But has the euro been [...]
Eurozone jobless rate hits 10pc March 31, 2010 THE Eurozone’s unemployment rate hit double digits in February and is expected to continue rising beyond its 11-and-a-half year high of 10 per cent in the coming months. The number of jobless in the 16-country area rose by 61,000 in February, taking the total number of unemployed across the region to 15.749m. The pace of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES M&A SURGE IN ASIA WHILE THE US AND EUROPE SUFFER Mergers and acquisitions boomed in Asia in the first quarter in sharp contrast to a slump in deal volume in Europea and the US, underlining a global shift in activity in the wake of the credit crisis. The value of global M&A overall [...]
Inflation dips for first time in five months March 23, 2010 The headline rate of inflation slowed in February for the first time since September, raising hopes that inflation has now peaked. Utility price cuts and a slower rise in food prices helped to send the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) back down to three per cent in February, official data published yesterday revealed. In January, it [...]
UK inflation rate drops March 23, 2010 THE headline rate of inflation last month slowed for the first time since September, raising hopes that the figure has reached its peak. Utility price cuts and a slower rise in food prices helped to send the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) back down to three per cent in February. In January it soared to a [...]
US data indicates upturn March 18, 2010 The US economy is on a moderate growth path and inflation pressures are contained, data showed yesterday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to 457,000 last week, the US Labour department said, suggesting the jobs market was improving, but only gradually. In another report, the department said the Consumer Price Index was unchanged [...]
Fizzy drinks ousted by mineral water in ONS inflation gauge March 15, 2010 Canned fizzy drinks are out and small bottles of mineral water are in, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its latest annual rejig of the “shopping basket” of goods it uses to calculate inflation. The ONS has also ditched pitta bread in favour of garlic bread and included cereal bars in the [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF March 11, 2010 Consumer inflation in China has soared to a 16-month high, according to official data published yesterday. Annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.7 per cent in February compared to 1.5 per cent the previous month. The main driver of the acceleration was a 6.2 per cent jump in the price of food. Inflation remains well [...]
As inflation rises, so can your profits March 7, 2010 WHATEVER the Bank of England might be telling us about a temporary spike in inflation, fund managers and analysts around the City are preparing themselves for a period of rising prices and adjusting their portfolios accordingly. Their reason? The parlous state of developed countries’ public finances combined with a weak recovery means that heavily indebted [...]
Record low for food inflation March 2, 2010 FOOD PRICES are increasing at their slowest annual rate in three years thanks to the falling cost of fresh food according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC)-Nielsen shop price index published today. Food prices were just 1.3 per cent higher on a year earlier in February compared to an annual increase of 2.9 per cent [...]