Latest Economic News
The latest news on the UK, US and world economies:
July 3, 2009
by
Kay Murchie
There was more bad news for the struggling euro zone today with the news of a fall in retail sales in May.
According to Eurostat, retail sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month - analysts had expected a fall of 0.1%.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the fall was 3.3% - again worse than the 2.7% fall analysts had expected.
The latest ...
July 2, 2009
by
Kay Murchie
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today elected to keep interest rates at 1% as widely expected.
In an effort to boost the struggling economy, the ECB has cut rates seven times since October when rates stood at 4.25%.
Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden lowered interest rates to 0.25% - the lowest level since records began over 100 years ago.
Meanwhile, Iceland opted to ...
by
Kay Murchie
Figures from the US Labor Department have revealed that the unemployment rate in the US rose from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June.
While the rate of 9.5% was slightly lower than had been expected - it is still the highest since August 1983 with a total of 14.7 million people unemployed in June in the world‘s largest economy. ...
by
Kay Murchie
Figures from the Eurostat agency have revealed that the unemployment rate in the 16-nations that share the European single currency rose from 9.3% in April to 9.5% in May - the highest rate since 1999.
Economists had forecast a rise to 9.4%.
According to Eurostat, 15 million people were out of work in May, up by 273,000 from the ...
by
Kay Murchie
Virgin Atlantic is set to reduce its number of flights this winter which will put 600 jobs at risk.
The airline, founded by Sir Richard Branson, announced that it was not operating its Heathrow-Chicago daily service for the winter 2009/10 season and is suspending one of its two daily services between Heathrow and Hong Kong.
The airline said it ...
by
Kay Murchie
“The Big Three” US carmakers reported a slump in sales in June compared to the same month last year.
General Motors (GM) said sales fell 33.6%, while Chrysler sales declined by 42%.
However, Ford, which is the only one of the three not to have gone bankrupt, said sales were down 10.9% compared with a year earlier - a much smaller ...
by
Kay Murchie
The Central Statistics Office has revealed that Irish unemployment hit a 13-year high in June, taking the unemployment rate up to 11.8%.
Ireland was the first euro zone country to enter recession and has the second-worst jobless rate in the European Union, behind Spain.
Meanwhile, the number of people claiming jobless benefits in Ireland has nearly doubled over the last 12 months to ...
July 1, 2009
by
David Masters
The government has announced plans to set up a venture capital fund to be worth an estimated £1 billion over the next ten years.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the money will be targeted at small businesses and start-ups in the technology sector.
Priority will be given to companies with high growth potential and a focus on the digital ...
by
Kay Murchie
There are hopes that the UK’s beleaguered manufacturing industry is recovering after the Purchasing Managers' Index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said output in the industry rose for the first time since March 2008 in June.
The index showed a reading of 52.1 - anything above 50 is positive and indicates growing production.
While today’s figures ...
by
Kay Murchie
The Bank of Japan's closely watched quarterly Tankan survey has revealed an improvement in business confidence in Japan
Today’s figures will add to the belief that the worst is over for the world’s second largest economy. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that industrial production was up 5.9% in May from a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the ...
June 30, 2009
by
Kay Murchie
The latest Marketing Trends Survey from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has revealed that financial marketers are cautiously optimistic about the UK economy.
The survey, conducted for the CIM by Ipsos MORI, the independent market research organisation, found that the number of financial marketers who believe the UK economy will worsen in the next 12 months has halved to 34% ...
by
Kay Murchie
There are fears for the euro zone today after official figures revealed that the area is heading for a period of deflation.
A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) could be a serious threat to the economy because it deters consumers and businesses from spending in expectation of falling prices.
Eurostat today said inflation in the 16 countries using the euro ...
by
Kay Murchie
After a recent run of good news in the US, the Conference Board has today revealed a dip in consumer confidence this month.
The news came as a bit of a shock since the latest University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment rose from 68.7 in May to 70.8 in June - the highest level since February 2008 and is ...
by
David Masters
The cost of running a home in the UK has plummeted to a three year low, according to new research from Halifax.
A study by the bank found that the cost of owning and running a household has fallen by nearly a fifth during the past twelve months to the lowest level since 2006.
Household running costs to the year ending 30 April 2009 ...
by
Kay Murchie
Official figures have today revealed that the UK economy shrank by 2.4% in the first three months of 2009 - far worse than expected and the biggest quarterly decline in 51 years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall was worse than the earlier estimate of a 1.9% fall - and was worse than analysts had expected.
The revised fall ...
by
Kay Murchie
HMV, the music and games retailer, has benefited from the demise of rivals and posted an 18% increase in full-year profits.
The group said pre-tax profits for the 12 months to April 25 were 11.5% ahead at £63 million. Furthermore, annual group-wide pre-tax profit totalled £61.3 million, compared with the £52 million reported a year ago.
According to the retailer, ...
by
Kay Murchie
Carpetright, which has been hit by the housing market slump and the recession, has today posted 72% decline in full-year profits.
Britain's largest carpet retailer reported a pre-tax profit of £16.7 million in the year to May 2, compared with £59.5 million for the same period a year ago. Annual revenues were down 7.4% from a ...
June 29, 2009
by
Brian Turner
Today's announcement by Gordon Brown of reforms to benefits for young people is old news and has already been tried by consecutive Conservative and Labour governments.
As Project Work under the Conservatives, and New Deal under Labour, the entire process has been - and always has been - a complete sham designed to shunt people off unemployment statistics.
The announcement claims that ...
by
Kay Murchie
The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is calling on the UK Government to take control of the UK’s spiralling debt.
The OECD also said that restoring the flow of lending to the economy is an urgent priority - even if it meant nationalising more banks.
The warning from the organisation comes as the Bank of ...
by
David Masters
Near two million grandparents continue to save money for their grandchildren despite the recession, according to new research by Saga Savings.
The over-50s financial provider found that 1.8 million (13%) grandparents are setting money aside for future generations.
The main reason cited for saving was to help grandchildren in their adult lives, providing funding for a university degree, career development, or buying their first ...
There was more bad news for the struggling euro zone today with the news of a fall in retail sales in May.
According to Eurostat, retail sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month - analysts had expected a fall of 0.1%.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the fall was 3.3% - again worse than the 2.7% fall analysts had expected.
The latest ...
