Mortgage lending falls more than £1bn in October November 17, 2016 Mortgage lending in the UK dipped by £1.2bn in October compared with the previous year, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). But despite the five per cent year-on-year decline, the figures were slightly above the trend for the last six months, in which mortgage lending averaged £20.1bn. They held on to post [...]
The Brexit bill? Chancellor Philip Hammond expected to announce £100bn black hole in Autumn Statement November 17, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to reveal a £100bn black hole in government finances in next week’s Autumn Statement. The estimated figure, built up cumulatively over the next five years, has been linked to the UK’s Brexit vote, because of the deterioration in forecasts since March. Read more: Public borrowing could overrun by £100bn over [...]
Brexit looks like a footnote compared to Trump win, says Barclays boss Jes Staley November 16, 2016 The impact of June's Brexit vote is overshadowed by Donald Trump's recent triumph in the US race for the White House, the boss of Barclays said today. Trump's surprise victory last week did little to rock the markets in the immediate aftermath, but the new president-elect is still yet to flesh out the details of his policies. [...]
The world’s biggest banks could be forced to break up if Fed’s Neel Kashkari gets his way November 16, 2016 The biggest banks in the US could be forced to break up their operations under new plans to tackle “too big to fail” banks by dramatically increasing their capital holding requirements unveiled by an influential US central bank governor. The risks posed by systemically important “mega banks” were also compared to “terrorism” by Neel Kashkari, [...]
Low interest rate challenges could be tackled by more than just central banks, says MPC committee member November 16, 2016 The solutions to problems often pinned on lower for longer interest rates may lie somewhere other than central banks, a key member of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said today. Speaking at the University of Manchester, Bank of England deputy governor for financial stability, Sir Jon Cunliffe, explained that issues could be addressed through, for example, putting policies [...]
Manufacturing increase fails to lift US industrial production in zero-growth October November 16, 2016 US industrial production stayed flat in October as output of consumer goods declined by 0.2 per cent, despite a manufacturing output increase of 0.2 per cent. The pace of production has fluctuated over the last six months, posting small declines in August and September, according to Federal Reserve figures. October’s figures undershot economists’ estimates of [...]
What Brexit vote? The number of foreign workers in the UK is still going up, despite the EU referendum and sterling’s drop November 16, 2016 The number of foreign nationals working in the United Kingdom has increased by 241,000 to 3.49m in the past year, despite the Brexit vote in June which was seen by many as a referendum on migration controls. This increase was 28,000 higher than the number of UK nationals with UK jobs, which grew by 213,000 [...]
Wage increases under threat as slowdown in UK manufacturing weighs on productivity growth November 16, 2016 UK productivity growth fell two-thirds between July and October, despite better than expected GDP growth, new figures have shown. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the main measure of productivity, growth in average output per hour worked, declined to 0.2 per cent from July to September, down from 0.6 per cent in [...]
Brexit effect? Wage growth stays slow as unemployment benefit claimants rise November 16, 2016 Is this a sign the Brexit vote is beginning to have an impact on the jobs market? Growth in average weekly earnings including bonuses remained resolutely flat at 2.3 per cent between July and September, figures published today showed – although real wage growth could only muster a disappointing 1.7 per cent. The figures, by [...]
The number of deaths might be reducing but terrorism is costing the global economy billions of dollars each year November 16, 2016 Terrorism cost the global economy an eye-watering $90bn during 2015 according to a report by a leading global think tank. The Institute for Economics and Peace today produced its Global Terrorism Index, which revealed the impact terrorism is having on the world's finances. Read more: How nuclear terrorism is a $1bn opportunity for this UK firm Perhaps unsurprisingly, [...]