Minutes of the Bank of England’s July 6-7 meeting have been released today and have revealed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) again voted 7-2 to lift interest rates and 8-1 to restart the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) scheme. Adam Posen, again, called for an injection of £50 billion via the QE scheme to boost the [...]
A quarterly survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed that the UK economy was “fragile”. The BCC’s survey for the three months to the end of June showed a slow recovery and estimates that the economy grew by 0.3% in the period – slower than the 0.5% growth in the first quarter. Commenting [...]
One of the members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Paul Fisher, has argued that the central bank is right to keep interest rates low. His comments come despite leading business groups urging the bank to lift rates to combat soaring inflation, which is currently more than double its 2% target. Last [...]
Policymaker Paul Fisher has said the Bank of England is right not to have lifted interest rates from their current low of 0.5%, suggesting the economy is still too fragile. His comments in the Daily Mail come despite calls from business groups to raise interest rates to curb inflation – which is currently running at [...]
According to the latest Quarterly Economic Survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the recovery remains fragile. The survey, which polled 6,000 firms, found that companies still face cash flow problems and 80% of manufacturers said the cost of raw materials means they are under pressure to lift prices. The manufacturing sector has been [...]
The Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) is urging the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep interest rates on hold when it meets later this week. The manufacturers’ trade body believes the economy is too fragile and the MPC should delay interest rate hikes until later in the year when the recovery is secure. [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%, as widely expected. Interest rates have now been at this low level since March 2009 - when the economy was in the midst of recession. Recent figures showed the economy [...]
Leading business group, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), is urging the Bank of England not to increase interest rates this week. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will commence its two-day meeting tomorrow and while many have called on the Bank to hike rates to combat stubbornly high inflation, the BCC is calling on the [...]
Retail sales fell last month - providing further evidence of a fragile economic recovery. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales fell 0.4% in February on an annual basis after a 2.3% rise in January. The trade body attributed the fall to the ongoing squeeze on household incomes as fears [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today warned of a fragile economic recovery in the UK with growth expected to slow in the final quarter of 2010. There has been suggestions that economic growth will be severely hampered because of the Government’s massive spending cuts. There is a possibility that the Bank of England’s [...]
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today left interest rates at almost zero, in a bid to boost the economy and continue its battle against deflation. The Japanese recovery has been faltering of late and exports, a crucial driver for economic growth, continue to slow. In addition, a strong yen could be damaging for the [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has once again said massive spending cuts introduced to deal with the budget deficit could push the UK back into a recession. In June, and again last month, Mr Blanchflower warned the coalition Government that tough spending cuts could pose [...]
Nobel prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, has expressed his concern for the euro and the euro zone’s fragile recovery. Sixty-seven-year-old Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, warned that the future of the single currency is bleak, while the region’s recovery is threatened by a series of austerity measures, which have been introduced by [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has today said he still doesn’t rule out a double dip recession. In June, Mr Blanchflower, who is professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, warned the coalition Government that tough spending cuts could pose a threat to [...]
It has been announced that the tough austerity measures introduced by the coalition Government are set to lead to industrial action following a trade union gathering in Manchester today. At the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) meeting, union leaders urged delegates to “stand up and fight” against the massive spending cuts. The motion was supported [...]
It appears the European Commission is optimistic about the euro zone’s growth prospects after lifting GDP forecasts. According to the Commission, growth of 1.8% in the EU for 2010 is expected - slightly higher than its previous estimate of 1%. Meanwhile, for the 16-member euro zone, it is forecasting growth of 1.7% - up from [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts plummeted in June - far more than expected, raising fears for the already fragile housing market. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes fell 5% in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 properties – the lowest since October 2009 [...]
Speaking at a banking conference in Vienna recently, US multi-billionaire investor George Soros said a double-dip recession cannot be ruled out. A so-called double-dip recession, whereby the economy goes into recession twice without having undergone a full recovery in between, is almost inevitable in Europe next year, as credit problems are forcing European countries to [...]
The newly-established Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) is scheduled to publish growth forecasts later and they are likely to be much lower than the previous Labour Government’s predictions. According to economists, the OBR, which is led by former Treasury official Sir Alan Budd, is expected to say ex-Chancellor Alistair Darling’s 2011 forecast of 3% - [...]
European equities markets were higher Tuesday as banks came back from big declines on Monday, helped by a statement from Societe Generale’s (Euronext: GLE) CEO that his bank is healthy. The FTSE 100 was up 0.87 percent to 5,174.25 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.27 percent to 10,011, with banks the best performers [...]
Rics: Housing market remains in the doldrums
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that the UK housing market remained weak in August with house prices falling further. According to the Institution, homeowners remain reluctant to put their properties up for sale, while buyers continue to struggle to secure a mortgage and remain uncertain about the economic climate. The [...]
CML: Mortgage lending edges higher in July
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
UK inflation edges higher in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% last month from July’s rate of 4.4%. However, the figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs but the main reason behind last month’s rise was a 5.1% [...]
Fresnillo down on silver prices
European equities markets were lower Monday on the possibility that Greece could default soon and on speculation that Moody’s Investors Service could cut its rating on several big banks with holdings tied to Greece. The FTSE 100 was down 1.63 percent to 5,129.62 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.65 percent to 9,983.75 as [...]
IFS warns of tough times for UK households
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
ICB final report recommends ring-fencing
The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Tullow Oil leads 100 in London
European equities markets were significantly lower Friday on an increased possibility that Greece could default on its debt as soon as this weekend, raising the concern level over the European region’s debt problems and ratcheting up worries that the economic recovery is faltering. Additionally, markets reacted to the resignation of European Central Bank board member [...]
SMMT: UK car sales rise in August
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed UK car sales saw their first rise in 14 months in August. According to the trade body, car sales rose by 7.3% in August compared with the same month in 2010, with sales of smaller cars rising by more than 30%. The Ford Fiesta remained [...]
Factory gate inflation higher than expected in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices held steady in August – remaining at the highest annual rate since October 2008. According to the ONS, output prices (factory gate) annual inflation for all manufactured products held steady at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1% in August. The figures were [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Contact us
