A monthly survey by the European Commission has reported a rise in euro zone economic sentiment in February. The Indicator rose to 107.8 in February, up from 106.8 in January and exceeded forecasts of a reading of 106.8. In a statement, the Commission said: “The ESI (Economic Sentiment Indicator) is now above its long-term average [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has revealed sales of previously owned homes in the US rose in January. The industry body said sales grew 2.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million units – beating forecasts of 5.23 million units. Sales were also up 5.3% compared with January 2010 levels. [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, posted growth of 3.6% in 2010 – the strongest pace since German reunification in 1990, the Federal Statistical Office said today. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world. “We grew [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has again revised its forecasts for the airline industry. According to the industry body, global airlines will make a profit of $15.1 billion (£9.5 billion) this year. The figure is 70% higher than its previous forecast made in September and significantly better than its anticipated loss of $2.8 billion [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew by a better than expected 1.2% last month – this followed an increase of 0.7% in September. The rise, which was the fourth consecutive monthly gain, was fuelled by an increase in car sales. Retail sales figures are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for approximately [...]
Official figures today showed Italian economic growth slowed in the July to September period. Italy’s statistics office, Istat, said the economy expanded by 0.2% in the third quarter, slowing from the 0.5% growth recorded in the second quarter. The growth rate was half the 0.4% expected by analysts. On an annual basis, meanwhile, the economy [...]
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today opted to keep interest rates on hold between zero and 0.1%. The move comes just weeks after the Bank surprised analysts and cut rates to this level. The measures come as the economy continues its battle with deflation. Deflation is also a concern for the Japanese economy. Recent [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today warned that economic growth will be hit due to deep spending cuts. Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economic counsellor, said massive spending cuts may have to be revisited if growth in the UK is hampered. However, Mr Blanchard did highlight that his comments applied to all advanced economies, [...]
The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity slowed further in July. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI dipped slightly from 57.6 in June to 57.3 in July. However, the reading exceeded forecasts of 57.0 and is still close to May’s 15-year high of 58.1. Furthermore, the sector has now expanded [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) can be [...]
Industrial production in the euro zone increased for the third month in a row in May. Industrial output rose by 0.9% from April and was 9.4% higher than in May 2009, according to European Union statistics agency Eurostat. However, the figures missed forecasts of a 1.3% monthly rise and an 11.3% annual gain. “May’s euro [...]
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned of higher unemployment if economic growth misses forecasts. According to the employment group, growth needs to be at least 2.5% between now and 2015, in order for the private sector to create sufficient jobs to offset those that would be lost as a result of [...]
Growth in the UK’s closely-watched service sector slowed in June and hit its lowest level in 10 months. The latest index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit PMI showed a reading of 54.4 in June, down from 55.4 in May. Not only did this represent the lowest level since August last year, [...]
The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) has today revealed the Turkish economy expanded at a rate of 11.7% in the first quarter of 2010 on an annual basis. The figures indicate a strong recovery from a profound recession, which hit the wider global economy. Turkey’s economy emerged from recession in the final quarter of 2009, experiencing [...]
A survey among UK companies has found that confidence has plunged to a level not seen since 1995, as a result of the Government’s tough spending cuts. BDO’s Business Trends index, which covers 11,000 companies from a range of industries, slumped to 97 in May from 103.3 in April – the largest fall since the [...]
Fashion chain Next said it had a solid first quarter and is on track to meet full-year profit targets but added: “We remain very cautious in our outlook for the year ahead”. Its cautious statement comes as many other companies warn of slow consumer spending after the General Election as the new Government embarks on [...]
British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), today posted better-than-expected same store sales of 5.1% in the UK in the 13 weeks to March 27 (its fiscal fourth quarter). Sales were boosted by strong demand for formalwear and knitwear. The company said clothing sales grew 10.1%, while homewares rose 13.3%. Furthermore, food sales (which have [...]
Fashion chain Next has today reported better than expected sales figures for the Christmas period. The fashion retailer Next said like-for-like sales at Next Retail were up 3.2% in the 22 weeks to Christmas Eve. Its mail order business, Next Directory, said sales increased by 6.8% compared with a year earlier. As a result, it [...]
There is more good news for the world’s third largest economy today after China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed a surge in industrial output. Industrial output rose to a 19-month high of 16.1% in October compared with a year earlier, exceeding market forecasts of 15.5%. Last month, official figures revealed that Chinese GDP growth surged [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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