The EU statistics office Eurostat has today revealed euro zone industrial output rose by 1.2% in August. On an annual basis, meanwhile, industrial output grew by 5.3%. Both sets of figures beat economists’ forecasts. On a regional basis, Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, saw a monthly fall of 1% but was 7.8% [...]
Brazil, which is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, recently admitted that inflation is spiralling out of control. Yesterday, the central bank lifted its key interest rate to 11.75% from 11.25%, in a bid to tame inflation, which at 5.91% exceeds the Government’s target of 4.5%. The move, which was widely expected, is the [...]
Japan’s industrial production rose in December by 3.1% – beating expectations of a 2.9% gain. The rise also represented the strongest in 11 months – boosted by global demand for the nation’s goods. As a result, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said production is now “showing signs of an upward movement” compared with [...]
US industrial production recovered in November – rising by 0.4% after a 0.2% contraction in October. The result beat expectations of a forecast of 0.3% and represented the biggest gain since July. Meanwhile, the Labor Department today revealed consumer prices slowed in November. The Consumer Price Index edged up 0.1% – slightly below the forecast [...]
Germany’s statistics office, Destatis, has today revealed annual German consumer price inflation (CPI) increased to the highest rate in two years in November, rising to 1.5%, from 1.3% in October. This represented the highest rate since October 2008. Meanwhile, on a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1%. German inflation is still well below the target of [...]
The good news just keeps on coming for Europe’s largest economy after the Economy Ministry today revealed industrial production rose by 2.9% in October – almost treble the 1% economists had expected. Economists described it as “a good start to the fourth quarter”. The figures indicate that Germany continues to drive the recovery of the [...]
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 [...]
US retail sales rose in April for the seventh consecutive month. The figures are closely watched since consumer spending makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US. According to the Commerce Department, total retail sales rose by 0.4% following an upwardly revised 2.1% gain the previous month. Furthermore, retail sales [...]
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 [...]
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is expected to keep interest rates at the rate of between zero and 0.25% at a meeting later today. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 and the bank has previously said that as a result of subdued inflation [...]
Industrial production in the euro zone exceeded expectations in January, posting growth of 1.7%, which represented the biggest monthly increase since records began in January 1990. The increase boosted hopes that the 16-member bloc’s economic recovery is gathering pace. It was recently revealed the euro zone economy grew by just 0.1% in the fourth quarter [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts increased for the month of January but building permits were down. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes rose 2.8% during the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 properties. While this represented the highest level in six months, the figures [...]
Industry body, the EEF, has warned that UK manufacturers believe it will be 2011 before the industry returns to pre-recession levels. It was recently announced that manufacturing output remained flat for a second consecutive month in November. On an annual basis, manufacturing output declined by 5.4%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a rise in UK industrial production for the month of November. The official data showed that output rose by 0.4% in November compared with October and was slightly higher than analysts expectations of a 0.3% rise. The figures will boost hopes that the UK emerged from [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, saw exports rise for the third consecutive month in November. Exports, on a seasonally adjusted basis, totalled €70.6 billion (£63 billion) during the month – an increase of 1.6% compared with the previous month. The monthly gain was double economists’ forecasts of a 0.8% rise and followed gains of [...]
There are signs of recovery within the US manufacturing sector after the Federal Reserve reported a rise in industrial production for the month of September. The US central bank said output at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities grew 0.7% during the month – higher than the 0.2% rise expected by analysts and follows the [...]
According to a forecast from the European Commission, the euro zone will return to positive growth by the end of 2009, lifting the 16 countries that use the euro out of recession. The commission is forecasting growth of 0.2% for the July to September period but warns that the recovery might not be sustainable in [...]
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 [...]
The Federal Statistics Office has today announced a severe slump in German exports – the biggest fall since the start of the recession, indicating the economy has some way to go until it recovers. Exports plunged 28.7% in April compared with April last year falling to €63.8 billion (£55 billion) compared with €89.5 billion in [...]
Industrial production in France and Italy have experienced sharp falls in March. National statistics office INSEE said output in France fell 1.4% in March compared with the previous month, nearly treble the 0.5% which had been expected by economists. In the meantime, Italian national statistics agency ISTAT said monthly production in the country fell for [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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