Utilitywise share price buzzes on double-digit turnover and 97 per cent cut to net debt October 18, 2016 Shares in utility cost management consultancy Utilitywise rose this morning after the company posted double-digit revenue growth and announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer. The figures Revenue at the group rose 22 per cent to £84.4m in the year to 31 July, up from £69.1m in 2015. Profit before tax grew by seven per [...]
Government’s Brexit dance is maiming the pound October 18, 2016 Inflation is coming to eat the pound in your pocket. Today, data for September is expected to show that prices in the UK rose by an annual 0.9 per cent rate, up from 0.6 per cent in August, driven by energy and food prices. However, the full impact of the recent plunge in sterling will [...]
The new centre ground: The full text of Theresa May’s Conservative Party conference speech October 5, 2016 In the speech which closed the Conservative Party conference, Theresa May spoke of a country in transition, and new opportunities. The full 7,600 words is below – although if you'd rather a cut-down version, her best quotes are here – or you can read how businesses reacted. The new centre ground: May's speech in full When [...]
Labour’s opposition to shale gas is economic sabotage of industrial Britain October 3, 2016 The INEOS Insight, holding 27,500 cubic metres of shale gas, docked at Grangemouth in Scotland last week. As a vessel it is as impressive as it is imposing, and yet it is also a tangible symbol of the confusion in Britain’s industrial policy. Manufacturing as a share of UK GDP has halved in the last [...]
As the Opec cartel agrees to cut oil production, should central banks prepare for a rise in inflation? September 29, 2016 David Morrison, senior market strategist at Spread Co, says Yes. Crude soared on Opec’s announcement not just to freeze, but to actually cut production. Yet the upside momentum appears to have petered out for now. No wonder, given the lack of detail over who will bear the brunt of the proposed cuts and uncertainty concerning a [...]
The new sick man of Europe is the continent’s entire banking sector September 29, 2016 The “sick man of Europe” has been a popular phrase for describing countries in Europe beset by economic woes since the mid-nineteenth century. The UK, Italy, Germany, France and Greece, among others, have all borne this unwanted diagnosis at some point. But in 2016, this moniker can no longer be solely applied at a country level. [...]
Consumer confidence hits pre-referendum levels, but could inflation knock the UK economy off course? September 29, 2016 Brits are feeling just as optimistic about the state of the UK economy as they were before the referendum, a leading indicator has revealed. GfK’s consumer confidence barometer, out today, has bounced back to levels last seen in May and June, before the UK’s historic vote to leave the EU sent the index crashing at [...]
Trumponomics is big, bold and brash – but less unorthodox than you might think September 28, 2016 Donald Trump is an undoubted political maverick. But is he an economic maverick too? The answer is yes and no. Yes he’s a maverick on trade policy, arguing for the rejection of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump has also called for a 35 [...]
With Theresa May expected to give it the green light, is Hinkley Point just a colossal white elephant? September 14, 2016 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. There is little doubt that we need more electricity generating capacity – and the sooner the better. So the government’s determination to expand capacity is welcome. But Hinkley Point is flawed. Putting aside security fears over Chinese finance behind the proposed EDF nuclear power plant, [...]
Hunting share price jumps five per cent despite loss-making six months September 5, 2016 Shares in energy service provider Hunting rose over five per cent in morning trading despite announcing falling revenues and loss-making operations for the first half of 2016. Markets responded positively to the news of a reduction in Hunting's cost base and an interim financing arrangement that it is hoped will give the group sufficient breathing space in the short-term. The [...]