News Tag: fall

March 18, 2010

Euro falls as Greece warns it could seek IMF help

by Kay Murchie
The euro tumbled again today after Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, warned that Greece might have to seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The currency fell to 1.3648 dollars, before recovering to 1.3692 dollars, however it was still down from 1.3735 dollars late in New York yesterday. Today, Mr Papandreou told the EU parliament in Brussels: "This ...

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BoE report reveals sharp fall in UK business lending

by Kay Murchie
The latest Bank of England quarterly lending survey has revealed lending to British businesses slumped in January. According to the report, net lending fell by 9.3% during the month - the sharpest decline since records began in 1999. Banks and building societies lent £6.5 billion in January and followed a drop of £3.4 billion in the previous month, the ...

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March 17, 2010

US producer prices in February fall

by Kay Murchie
The US Labor Department has today reported a fall in producer prices of 0.6% in February - the biggest fall since July 2009. The fall, which was worse than expected, was attributed to a 2.9% decline in energy costs. Compared to February 2009, producer prices grew 4.4%, but they slowed from a 4.6% annualised rise in January and was slightly below ...

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UK unemployment continues to fall

by Kay Murchie
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed that UK unemployment fell slightly in the three months to January to 2.45 million. The latest figures take the unemployment rate to 7.8%, according to the ONS. In the meantime, the number of Britons claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) also fell by 32,300 in February to 1.59 million - the sharpest fall since November 1997, just ...

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March 16, 2010

Fed leaves interest rates unchanged

by Kay Murchie
The Federal Reserve has today elected to keep US interest rates at the historically low level of between 0% and 0.25%, as widely expected. After the one day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 9-1 to keep rates unchanged. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 and the bank has previously ...

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US housing starts and building permits fall in Feb

by Kay Murchie
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts fell during the month of February, while building permits were also down. Both declines were attributed to the severe wintry weather that gripped parts of the US during the month. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes fell 5.9% during the month to a seasonally adjusted ...

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March 15, 2010

Passenger numbers in record slump at UK airports

by Kay Murchie
Figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have revealed a severe decline in passenger numbers across UK airports in 2009. According to the CAA, the UK's airports handled 7.4% fewer passengers in 2009 than in 2008 - marking the biggest drop since records began just after World War II. It was also the first time levels have fallen two years ...

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March 10, 2010

FSA to introduce tougher stress tests for banks

by Kay Murchie
City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has today announced banks will face stricter stress testing to ensure they can survive a further 4 years of falling economic growth and a 13.3% unemployment rate. Stress tests were introduced following the financial crisis to ensure that banks had sufficient capital to allow them to continue operating through dire economic conditions. The ...

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UK factory output in surprise January fall

by Kay Murchie
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output unexpectedly fell in January - primarily due to the cold weather during the month. According to the ONS, output fell by 0.4% in January compared with the previous month and represented the largest monthly fall since August. Analysts had expected a 0.3% rise. However, on an annual basis, output was up ...

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German exports slump in January

by Kay Murchie
The Federal Statistics Office today announced a fall in German exports for the month of January, with the cold weather being attributed to the fall, according to analysts. Exports in January fell by 6.3% on the month to €67.9 billion, while imports grew by 6% to €59.2 billion. As a result, Germany’s trade surplus narrowed €8.7 billion in January, down from €16.6 billion in ...

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March 9, 2010

PPF: DB pension scheme deficit falls in February

by Kay Murchie
Figures published by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have revealed a sharp fall in the deficit of the UK’s defined benefit pension schemes. According to the PPF, the deficit was trimmed to £15.1 billion at the end of February from £51.9 billion at the end of January. It is also a significant improvement on February 2009 when the deficit stood at ...

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March 5, 2010

US home sales in surprise fall in January

by Kay Murchie
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has revealed a fall in sales of previously owned homes in the US for the month of January, suggesting the extension of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers is having little appeal. The industry body said sales agreements fell 7.6% in January compared with December and the index that tracks sales agreements ...

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March 2, 2010

Handful of countries see house price growth in 2009

by Kay Murchie
The Rics European Housing Review 2010 has revealed a mixed bag for European house prices. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found that only five countries reported growth in house prices - with the UK being one of them - rising by 1% in 2009. Norway led the way with a 12% gain during 2009, while Finland, Sweden and ...

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Euro slumps to nine-month low against dollar

by Kay Murchie
Growing fears over the debt crisis in Greece continue to weaken the value of the euro and it sank further today to 1.3436 dollars - a level not seen since May 2009. Greece is currently taking action to reduce its public deficit from 12% to 8% of GDP this year. The country currently has the highest debt of the 16-member euro zone ...

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March 1, 2010

Sterling dives to 10-month low amid election fears

by Kay Murchie
The pound plummeted to a 10-month low today over fears of a possible hung parliament in the forthcoming election. Sterling lost 1.6% and dipped below $1.50 for the first time since May 2009 - it has already lost 7% against the dollar this year. The pound also lost ground against the euro and many other major currencies. A Sunday ...

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New Year usher in 17% fall in new mortgage approvals

by Gill Montia
In a round-up of January mortgage lending, Bank of England figures show approvals for house purchases falling 17%, compared to a month earlier. However, the month-on-month decline takes into account the end of the stamp duty holiday, which resulted in transactions being pushed through in time for December completions, and winter weather conditions that would have deterred ...

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February 26, 2010

House prices dip 1% in February

by Gill Montia
In the first of the UK house price indices for February, Nationwide has reported a 1% drop in the average value of a home, compared to a month earlier. The decline ends nine consecutive monthly rises and the building society points out that bad weather and the end of the stamp duty holiday in January will have played their part. Using a quarter-on-quarter ...

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ONS to publish second Q4 GDP estimate

by Kay Murchie
Last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the UK crawled out of recession in the fourth quarter by seeing growth of just 0.1% in the final three months of 2009. However, the figures were only the first estimate and the second estimate is to be released this morning. Yesterday, the ONS reported a sharp fall in business investment, which ...

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February 24, 2010

US new home sales in third consecutive monthly fall

by Kay Murchie
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of January - the third consecutive month that sales have fallen. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales dived by 11.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 306,000 units - the lowest since records commenced in 1963. The ...

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Federal Reserve chairman pledges low interest rates for long-term

by Kay Murchie
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has today said US interest rates will need to stay low in order to keep the economic recovery on track. In a testimony before Congress, Bernanke said there was a "nascent economic recovery" and said long-term recovery will depend on private sector’s demand for goods and services. Bernanke, who was recently awarded ...

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