German think tank says receding manufacturing sector damaging growth June 18, 2019 A German think tank today said the country’s export-oriented manufacturing sector, which is at the heart of its economy, “is in recession”. Read more: Germany sells 10-year bond at lowest ever yield The Ifo Institute reaffirmed its prediction that Europe’s biggest economy will expand by just 0.6 per cent in 2019, saying growth will be [...]
Bank of England official warns UK reliant on ‘flighty’ capital June 18, 2019 A Bank of England (BoE) official has today warned that since the Brexit referendum in 2016 Britain’s economy has become vulnerable to foreign money being withdrawn at short notice. Read more: Bank of England chief economist says rate rise on horizon Anil Kashyap, a member of the Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC), also warned that [...]
Global stock markets jump as Trump announces meeting with China’s Xi Jinping June 18, 2019 Stock markets around the world have been boosted by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will meet President Xi Jinping of China for trade talks at next week’s G20 meeting in Japan. Read more: IMF head: US-China trade war biggest threat to global growth Trump had previously said that China would be slapped with [...]
Euro plunges as Mario Draghi signals more ECB stimulus June 18, 2019 The euro has plunged and markets have spiked after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said more stimulus would be needed if the economic outlook failed to improve. Draghi suggested the EBC could cut interest rates or expand its bond-buying programme in a bid to reinvigorate the ailing Eurozone economy. Read more: What will happen [...]
Sterling falls to fresh 2019 low as Boris Johnson gathers support June 18, 2019 Sterling has fallen to a fresh 2019 low as Boris Johnson’s leadership bid goes from strength to strength – ramping up the chances of a no-deal Brexit. The pound slid to $1.2514 overnight – its lowest level since 11 December last year – before recovering slightly. Read more: Andrea Leadsom backs Boris Johnson in race [...]
Stiglitz’s 2020 vision: Left-wing economist makes a pitch for the soul of the Democrats June 17, 2019 Who will take on Donald Trump in next year’s battle for the White House? At the time of writing, an absurdly long list of Democratic hopefuls is dominated by Joe Biden, the septuagenarian former vice president who currently enjoys a huge lead in the opinion polls. Read more: President Trump endorses Boris Johnson as next PM [...]
British Chambers of Commerce slashes UK 2020 growth prediction June 17, 2019 The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today slashed its prediction for growth in the UK economy in 2020, blaming a slump in business investment and the unwinding of Brexit stockpiling. Read more: Pound falls as UK economy shrinks 0.4 per cent in April Growth in 2020 is now expected to be just one per [...]
EU officials fail to make significant progress on Eurozone budget size and funding June 14, 2019 Eurozone finance ministers have failed to make significant progress in their bid to establish a budget for the 19 countries using the euro currency during a meeting which ended today. Chairman Mario Centeno said that there had been some positive outcome, but insisted there was still a lot of work to do following the meeting, [...]
Why the world economy is like a wobbly bike June 14, 2019 | City Talk Three months ago we said “the easing in US-China trade tensions, more flexible central banks and the benefits of lower oil prices should stabilise activity later this year and support an upgrade in our global growth forecast for 2020”. However, two of those supports have now fallen away and we are more reliant on looser [...]
Treasury Committee launches inquiry into regional inequality June 14, 2019 The Treasury Select Committee (TSC) has today launched a new inquiry into economic imbalances between the regions of the UK, it said. Read more: Pound falls as UK economy shrinks by 0.4 per cent in April The Committee raised the prospect of the government producing economic forecasts for each region of the country. Currently the [...]
