Mario Draghi hits out at German MPs, German banks and ECB naysayers September 28, 2016 Mario Draghi confronted German politicians head on yesterday over their criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB)’s controversial monetary policies. In a speech to the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, before private meetings with MPs, Draghi also reiterated his calls for Eurozone countries to share the burden of stoking economic growth and insisted negative interest rates were [...]
Exports set for £20bn Brexit boost after sterling’s dramatic plunge September 28, 2016 Goods exports will jump by £20bn over the next year, cushioning the UK economy from a slowdown caused by the EU referendum, Standard and Poor's (S&P) has argued. In a new report assessing the impact of the Brexit vote on the UK and Europe, the ratings agency also stuck by its claims the UK will avoid [...]
Christine Lagarde issues hard-hitting defence of global economy September 28, 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has doubled-down on warnings against reversing the tide of globalisation. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, told a conference in Chicago this afternoon policies that restrict trade between countries and seek to protect economies from foreign competition will hit the world's poorest citizens, branding such ideas [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 28, 2016 Germany has been forced to deny reports of a possible Deutsche Bank bailout after investors abandoned the troubled bank and megabrew is on after investors voted to approve the deal. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing up ahead of the open, though not by [...]
Yanis Varoufakis has some advice for the UK, Theresa May and Labour September 28, 2016 Academic, EU-tormenter, former Greek finance minister and leather-jacket-wearing big thinker Yanis Varoufakis has blasted George Osborne and told the UK to get a move on with triggering Article 50. In an interview with the Today programme, Varoufakis, who resigned from the Syriza-led government last summer after he helped prime minister Alexis Tsipras take Greece to the [...]
Mark Carney warns North Sea industry turmoil to “persist for some time” September 28, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that the crisis engulfing the North Sea oil and gas industry is likely to “persist for some time”. An estimated 120,000 jobs will have been lost by the end of this year due to the oil price slide which began in mid-2014. Carney added that the turmoil was [...]
Carney’s Bank of England ally Minouche Shafik calls for further rate cuts September 28, 2016 A key Bank of England policymaker has said Threadneedle Street will need to loosen monetary policy again in the wake of the Brexit vote. Minouche Shafik, deputy governor of the Bank with responsibility for markets and banking, said this morning it was "likely" the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would need to cut interest rates or [...]
Article 50 fears temper consumer confidence gains September 28, 2016 Fears over job security in the wake of the EU referendum are lingering despite a string of robust economic data and no signs of a rise in unemployment. According to the latest consumer confidence monitor from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), optimism continues to creep back following the shock 23 [...]
Stuck in a rut? Here’s how to help the Brits who feel left behind September 28, 2016 England cricketer Stuart Broad was lambasted last year when he tweeted: “I’ve heard if you earn minimum wage in England you’re in the top 10 per cent earners in the world.” What was no doubt intended to be an innocuous observation prompted a wave of outrage on social media from people furious that a wealthy [...]
The UK is the seventh most competitive economy in the world September 27, 2016 The UK has surged to seventh place in a highly-influential ranking of the world’s most competitive economies. The World Economic Forum (WEF) said the UK had overtaken Hong Kong, Japan and Finland to climb three places in this year’s global competitiveness index, more than reversing last year’s embarrassing fall to 10th place. The WEF hailed [...]
