Manufacturing activity in China remained strong in January, two separate surveys have revealed. Firstly, the official China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said its purchasing managers index (PMI) dipped to 52.9 in January, from 53.9 the previous month. Secondly, the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI edged higher to 54.5 in January, from 54.4 in December. [...]
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 UK’s biggest retailers are currently reporting their Christmas trading figures, and it has been a mixed bag so far. Today, British retailing giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) said sales in the final quarter of 2010 were up despite the heavy snowfall which gripped much of the country last month. The 127-year-old retailer which sells [...]
Figures today have revealed the euro zone and the US have both enjoyed strong growth in the manufacturing sector. Firstly, the Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the euro zone posted a reading of 57.1 for December, up from the 55.3 in the previous month. The growth was boosted by the euro zone’s largest economy, [...]
Consumer confidence in Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, has fallen after six months of sharp gains, according to the GfK research group. GfK said its consumer climate indicator fell to 5.4 for January from 5.5 in December. The fall from the forward looking indicator, which questioned around 2,000 people, surprised some analysts. [...]
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 [...]
Manufacturing activity in China picked up further in November, two separate surveys showed today. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed manufacturing activity rose to 55.2 last month, up from 54.7 in October and 53.8 in September. Meanwhile, a separate survey from HSBC bank also confirmed manufacturing activity increased. Activity rose to 55.3 [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – surged 10.1% in August – confounding expectations of a 4.5% fall. The increase in orders represented the third consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows June’s 1.6% increase and July’s 8.8% growth. The surprise [...]
China has surpassed Japan and become the world’s number two economy and could pinch the top spot from the US in the next 15 years. In an interview with China Reform magazine, Yi Gang, China’s chief currency regulator, said: “China, in fact, is now already the world’s second largest economy.” He added: “China is still [...]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised its key interest rate from 4% to 4.5% in a bid to combat rising inflation. It is the fourth such increase this year and economists had only expected a rise to 4.25%. Inflation rose to 10.55% in June and the latest interest rate hike is a fresh [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK economic growth for the second quarter today surged ahead by 1.1% – almost double the rate analysts had forecast. Meanwhile, economic growth rose by 1.6% on an annualised basis – the highest in two years. The UK is the first G7 country to release its [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is scheduled to publish GDP figures for the second quarter today – the first G7 country to do so. Analysts expect growth of 0.6% for the April to June quarter – which would represent the strongest performance since before the credit crunch. Strong growth is expected to come from [...]
US search engine giant, Google, has reported second quarter net profit of $1.84 billion (£1.2 billion) – a rise of 24% on the $1.48 billion reported in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, revenue for the three months ending June came in at $6.82 billion – also a sharp rise on the $5.52 billion [...]
Figures today revealed Chinese exports grew by 43.9% in June compared with a year earlier. The figure, which exceeded expectations, comes after China overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter earlier this year. Germany had held the top spot since 2003. Meanwhile, imports increased by 34.1% year-on-year in June. As a result, China posted a [...]
The Canadian economy, which only entered a mild recession last year, appears to be performing well after figures show the unemployment rate continues to fall. Statistics Canada said on Friday that the country’s unemployment rate fell in April to 8.1%, from 8.2% in March. The economy added a better than expected 93,000 jobs last month [...]
Figures today revealed Australia’s jobs market remains strong after employment hit a record high of 11.1 million people at work. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the economy created almost 46,000 jobs last month – smashing analysts forecasts of 15,000. The latest figures means the unemployment rate held steady at 5.1%. Westpac Bank expects [...]
Releasing its latest economic forecasts today, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is forecasting that the economy will expand by 1.3% in 2010 – slightly higher than its forecast of 1% in March. The business group revised its growth forecast upwards due to a strong recovery in the manufacturing industry. However, it left its prediction [...]
Statistics Canada announced today that the Canadian economy expanded by an annualised 6.1% in the first three months of 2010. The figure was slightly better than the 6% analysts had expected and comes after a 4.9% expansion in the final three months of 2009. The growth has led economists to believe that the Bank of [...]
The Indian economy continues to perform strongly after figures showed annualised growth of 8.6% in the three months to March – primarily due to growth in manufacturing. The economy for the year ending March 2010 grew by 7.4% – slightly exceeding the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) forecast of 7.2%. Indian Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, [...]
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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