EU leaves eurozone growth forecasts unchanged February 13, 2020 The European Commission left its economic forecast unchanged for this year and 2021, as it warned that several eurozone member states may see more sluggish growth. The commission said gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the 19 eurozone countries would remain at 1.2 this year, continuing into 2021. The EU executive said that while the [...]
An inclusive market economy is well within reach post-Brexit February 13, 2020 In his Greenwich speech last week, the Prime Minister persuasively set out how the Brexit process must carry with it a Canada-style free trade agreement, resting on the “indispensable principle of comparative advantage.” For Boris Johnson, this means embracing free trade to raise living standards and lift people out of poverty, while casting aside the [...]
UK and EU must avoid a ‘punch-up’ over financial services, says incoming BoE governor Bailey February 12, 2020 Britain and the European Union must find a way to settle disagreements over how the UK’s finance industry can do business with the bloc without it descending into a “metaphorical punch-up”, said incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Bailey, who is currently head of the Financial Conduct Authority, also said it would be “hard [...]
Put your money where your morals are: ethical ideas for ESG investing February 12, 2020 Whether or not you agree with activists like Greta Thunberg or campaign groups like Extinction Rebellion, there’s been a clear societal shift in recent years to recognise the need to tackle problems like climate change or global poverty. One aspect of that shift is the increasing trend for savers to consider the environmental, social, and governance [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney says infrastructure investment needed to boost growth February 11, 2020 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said more public investment in infrastructure and higher corporate spending is needed to boost the UK’s struggling economy. Speaking to the House of Lords’ economic committee, Carney also said he expects interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future as structural factors such as weak productivity weigh [...]
Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell warns coronavirus could hurt global economy February 11, 2020 US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell has warned that the coronavirus outbreak could “spill over to the rest of the global economy” and said the central bank is “closely monitoring” the situation. In his semi-annual testimony to Congress, Powell said coronavirus posed a new threat to the US’s economic outlook, even as “the uncertainties around [...]
ECB chief Christine Lagarde calls for higher spending and climate action February 11, 2020 European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has renewed her calls for government spending to help tackle the Eurozone’s slowdown and said the bloc has to “gear up on climate change”. In a statement to the European Parliament as it looks at the ECB’s 2018 annual report, the new president also defended the central bank’s ultra-loose [...]
UK economy registers zero growth in final quarter of 2019 February 11, 2020 The UK economy flat-lined in the final quarter of 2019, data has shown, as political uncertainty driven by Brexit and the December General Election weighed on activity. Britain’s services sector – which makes up about 80 per cent of the economy – eked out growth of 0.1 per cent, while manufacturing production slumped 1.1 per [...]
Two in five UK workers living payday to payday, says survey February 11, 2020 Two out of five UK employees are living payday to payday, a new survey has found, with women and younger workers more likely to be financially stressed. The figures, from insurance firm Willis Towers Watson (WTW), suggest that workers feel increasingly financially vulnerable even as unemployment has hit record lows. Last week, the Joseph Rowntree [...]
Consumer spending bounces in January but high street woes continue February 11, 2020 Brits ramped up their spending in January after a thrifty December, according to new data, in the latest sign that the UK economy may have bounced back at the start of 2020. Consumer spending grew 3.9 per cent in January, data from payment provider Barclaycard showed today, up from the one per cent growth witnessed [...]
