Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi calls for more investment in the oil industry November 19, 2015 Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, has warned investment in the oil industry must keep pace with forecasts for future demand to ensure the stability of the market. Speaking at an energy conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, Naimi said: "Demand for oil is continuing to rise". "To meet this growing need, there should be a continuation [...]
What’s going to happen to the economy in 2016? From persistently low oil prices to improved global growth, here are Goldman Sachs’ top 10 market themes November 19, 2015 Economists at Goldman Sachs have just released what they believe will be the 10 biggest economic themes of 2016. Here they are: 1. Global growth, more stable than it looks. The Goldman economists believe global growth is bottoming out this year at 3.2 per cent and expect it to accelerate to 3.6 per cent next year. [...]
Global medicine market will hit record value of $1.4 trillion in the next five years November 19, 2015 By 2020, the global medicine market will be worth $1.4 trillion (£900bn), according to new figures from the IMS Institute of Healthcare – a 30 per cent rise from its current value. The increase is expected to come largely from “pharmerging markets” such as China, India and Brazil, as their healthcare systems become increasingly sophisticated. [...]
Banking is less of an old boys’ club but there’s still work left to do to improve diversity in the industry November 19, 2015 A report released today has praised the banking industry for its efforts to improve diversity but cautions that there is still more to do. In particular, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) paper highlights that 31 per cent of board directors at FTSE 100 banks are women, compared to 26 per cent for FTSE 100 companies overall. [...]
ECB minutes: Bigger Eurozone QE programme now looks like ‘done deal’ November 19, 2015 The European Central Bank considered expanding its €1.1 trillion (£770bn) quantitative easing (QE) programme at its October meeting, new minutes reveal. The meeting, on the 22 October, saw the ECB’s main policy rate kept unchanged at a record low of 0.05 per cent. QE is where the central bank buys assets using newly created money – it [...]
Manufacturing outlook deteriorates as export orders drop to three-year low – CBI industrial trends survey November 19, 2015 Manufacturers’ export orders are at the lowest for three years, new figures show, dashing hopes that an economic recovery in the Eurozone would provide a boost to the UK’s exporters. The survey of 458 firms from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed that only 11 per cent said their export order books were above [...]
HSBC: UK homeowners are losing £29bn a year by not remortgaging November 19, 2015 Brits are losing a massive £29bn by not remortgaging onto better deals, a leading lender has said. With mortgage rates currently hovering around record lows, HSBC has calculated that homeowners who have not remortgaged onto a lower fixed rate from their standard variable rate (SVR) are losing an average of £4,000 a year. The SVRs [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage lending is steaming ahead at its fastest pace since 2008, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders November 19, 2015 Mortgage lending is in full recovery mode. The amount of mortgage lending shot up eight per cent in October compared with September to £21.8bn, according to figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today. October was the biggest month for mortgage lending since July 2008 and takes annual mortgage lending growth to a whopping [...]
The great investment debate: Should you put your money in active or passive funds? November 19, 2015 The great investment debate typically pits passively managed funds against their actively managed counterparts. Passively managed funds give investors low-cost risk exposure without the added worry of assessing a fund manager's skills, while actively managed funds come with fees, which eat into their overall returns, but allowing fund managers to trade through market volatility to weather storms like [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Sharp drop in retail sales in October as shoppers gear up for the mega deals day and Cyber Monday November 19, 2015 UK retail sales dropped steeply in October as the hype surrounding the Rugby World Cup died down and shoppers kept cash aside to snap up some Black Friday bargains on the 27th November. The amount spent at retailers dropped 0.7 per cent on the month while the volume of goods bought was down 0.6 per cent, according to [...]
