Negative interest rates come with risks, warns Bank of England’s Martin Weale March 8, 2016 A Bank of England official has warned there are risks of negative side-effects if interest rates are slashed below zero. Negative interest rates are in place in the UK’s biggest export market, the Eurozone, as well as several other countries. But Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England's nine-strong monetary policy committee, told an audience [...]
Brent crude and WTI oil prices: Brent falls back below $40 a barrel in choppy trade March 8, 2016 Oil prices wavered in and out of the red today, as investors weighed mixed messages from the market. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 2.2 per cent to $39.94 per barrel in afternoon trading. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, slumped 2.7 per cent to $36.88 They'd inched into positive territory earlier, with analysts telling Reuters [...]
German industrial production rises at sharpest rate since 2009 March 8, 2016 Industrial production in Germany, the Eurozone's largest economy, jumped 3.3 per cent in January on the month before, figures released this morning show. Production was lifted by construction, which rose seven per cent. Manufacturing output climbed 3.2 per cent, the data from German statistical office Eurostat shows. Industrial production makes up nearly a third of the German economy's [...]
Eurozone economic growth confirmed at four-year high in 2015 despite end of year slowdown March 8, 2016 The Eurozone economy grew at its strongest rate for four years in 2015 despite slowing toward the end of the year. The economy was 1.6 per cent bigger last year than in 2014, according to data released by EU statistical office Eurostat this morning. However, the economy expanded at a slower rate in the second half the year. The [...]
More borrowers opt for fixed rate deals as mortgage rates hit record low March 8, 2016 Mortgage rates have dropped to the cheapest on record, according to figures released by the Bank of England this morning. The overall interest rate on new mortgage lending in the final three months of 2015 fell to 2.71 per cent, the lowest since the series began in 2007. The interest lenders are making on the total stock [...]
UK wages and jobs: REC warns UK jobs market faces “serious threats” March 8, 2016 A leading recruitment organisation today warned that the UK jobs market will face a cocktail of "serious threats" in the coming months. It comes as the Recruitment & Employment Confederation's (REC) monthly report showed permanent jobs and accompanying starting salaries grew at the quickest pace in three months in February. Meanwhile, demand for permanent staff saw its sharpest increase [...]
Staff appointments continued to rise at a steady pace last month, with permanent placements rising at their quickest pace for three months, but uncertain times up ahead for recruiters March 8, 2016 The UK's job market looked strong last month, with permanent placements increasing at their fastest rate for three months, a report released today has found. According to the Report on Jobs by Markit and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), just less than half (44.8 per cent) of the 400 recruitment and employment consultancies questioned said they had [...]
Job growth in London storms ahead of UK average, but introduction of National Living Wage could see employers in sectors with lower wages relying on younger workers or cutting jobs March 8, 2016 Demand for jobs across the UK is at the strongest it has been in years, with London racing out in front, according to a report out today. The study by ManpowerGroup pegged the net employment outlook – the proportion of employers who plan to hire staff less the proportion who plan to reduce their workforce – for the [...]
Oil gushes past $40 per barrel March 7, 2016 The price of oil has surged over $40 per barrel for the first time this year, as shifting sentiment raises hopes that a 20-month price rout is finally coming to an end. Crude has climbed by almost 50 per cent from lows of $27 a barrel after sliding US production and discussions between Saudi Arabia [...]
Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fischer says an increase in inflation is stirring March 7, 2016 Inflation in the US could be about to begin rising back up to its two per cent target, the vice chair of the Federal Reserve said today. Stanley Fischer said he disagreed with the idea that the link between unemployment and inflation had be severed. "Since the US economy is now below our two per cent inflation target, and [...]
