In pictures: London landmarks shrouded in thick (but Halloween-appropriate) fog October 31, 2016 Londoners awoke to a decidedly spooky scene this morning, after the capital was shrouded in thick fog. Such was the limit to visibility, the Met Office issued a severe weather warning, with road users being advised that travelling in the capital could be dangerous and a “potential to cause danger to life or widespread disruption”. Yesterday [...]
Post Office strike: 3600 walk out today as further action could cause Christmas post chaos October 31, 2016 Thousands of staff at Post Offices across the UK will walk out today as they strike over jobs, pensions and branch closures. The 24-hour strike will affect 118 of the Crown Post Offices, but 99 per cent of the 11,600 Post Offices will remain open. Up to 3,500 members of the Communication Workers Union and Unite [...]
Would likely election winner Hillary Clinton be better for the US economy than her predecessor Barack Obama? October 31, 2016 Molly Kiniry, a consultant at the Legatum Institute, says Yes. On their first day in office, US Presidents are handed the nuclear launch codes, but not a magic wand for the economy. Their commercial role is largely about projecting confidence and building trust. The US economy is inextricably linked to global markets, which are unwilling to [...]
Some of the UK’s largest drugmakers are set to meet ministers over Brexit concerns next month October 30, 2016 Pharmaceuticals bosses are set to meet with ministers next month in a bid to press their case for government support in the ahead of formal talks on quitting the EU. Business secretary Greg Clark said today that the government had reassured automaker Nissan over its negotiating plans for Brexit, and now the drugmakers are to [...]
World Bank appoints Kristalina Georgieva as chief executive October 29, 2016 Kristalina Georgieva has been appointed chief executive of the World Bank. The Bulgarian will effectively replace Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the bank's managing director and chief operating officer, though the title of chief executive is newly created. Indrawati was appointed Indonesian finance minister in July. Georgieva, the former head of EU humanitarian affairs and vice-president of [...]
Google’s parent Alphabet posts strong results October 27, 2016 Google's parent company Alphabet posted a strong set of results for the third quarter, with revenue up by 20.2 per cent to $22.45bn (£18.46bn). Shares in Alphabet increased 1.6 per cent in after-hours trading. Google's advertising revenue, which makes up the largest chunk of its overall revenue, jumped 18.1 per cent to $19.82bn in the quarter. Read [...]
What do today’s GDP figures mean for UK interest rates? October 27, 2016 The Bank of England looks set to delay another bout of emergency stimulus next week after this morning’s strong GDP figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK grew by a robust 0.5 per cent this morning, defying already-revised expectations of a 0.3 per cent gain in the first three months after the [...]
Five things we learned from today’s GDP figures: Could Star Wars have saved us from a post-Brexit slump? October 27, 2016 A surprising set of GDP results came out this morning, revealing that the resilient economy had grown by 0.5 per cent in the last quarter. This was at odds to predictions from the Treasury earlier this year who thought that if the UK voted to leave the EU, economic growth could slow to one per cent. [...]
How seven City analysts reacted to the surprise rise in UK GDP October 27, 2016 Scaremongers were once again proved wrong this morning, after it was revealed the UK's economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2016. The figure, by the Office for National Statistics, was much higher than the 0.1 per cent analysts had expected. Here's how the City reacted: ps. Today marks the 30th anniversary [...]
Brexit, what Brexit? UK economy grows by 0.5 per cent – slower than the previous quarter but better than economists had expected October 27, 2016 GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of the year, in a sign the economy has – so far – shrugged off the effects of Brexit. The statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are the first to cover the full three months after the UK voted to leave the [...]