Flood of stimulus underpins Chinese growth in second quarter July 15, 2016 Easy monetary policy helped the Chinese economy expand slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, data published today showed. Official data suggested gross domestic product grew 6.7 per cent between April and June from a year-ago, unchanged from the first quarter, and slightly ahead of market expectations of a dip to 6.6 per cent. Read more: The South [...]
Brexit: It’s early days, but UK business has been getting on with it July 15, 2016 It is less than three weeks since the British people voted to leave the EU. In that time, much of the media response has been verging on hysterical. The political establishment, City and even bookmakers simply did not see Leave coming. Figures who were top of their game a month ago have fallen on their swords: [...]
The Bank was right to hold rates – even a cut in August would be a shot in the dark July 15, 2016 Three weeks on from a dramatic referendum result, we have little hard information about how the economy is responding. There have been indications that business confidence and consumer confidence have been affected by the shock outcome. But there has also been a lot of political turbulence, and it is understandable that this has affected the consumer [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 gives up its gains after Bank of England puts rate rise on hold until August July 14, 2016 The Bank of England dashed market hopes of a further rate cut for at least another month today, sending the FTSE 100 off its 11-month highs. Having rallied to a peak of 6,743.42 before the Bank of England's decision, the FTSE 100 crashed to earth, closing down 0.2 per cent at 6,654.47 points. Most analysts thought the Bank would [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 14, 2016 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold, stunning the market and sending the pound sharply upwards. Here's what you need to know ahead of the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher, signalling what could be another day of broken all-time-highs for indices. The S&P is up [...]
BlackRock falls short of expectations due to low pound and wary investors July 14, 2016 The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock has missed expectations in its second quarter. Revenue is down three per cent to $2.8bn (£2bn), net income declined four per cent to $789m, while assets under management also fell four per cent on last year to $4.89 trillion. BlackRock’s adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $4.78, falling short of an analyst consensus of $4.81. The New York [...]
Pound surges as Bank of England monetary policy committee maintains interest rates – despite Brexit panic July 14, 2016 The pound jumped nearly two per cent against the dollar after the Bank of England failed to cut UK interest rates, despite widely-held speculation it would move to calm fears over the impact of Brexit. The pound was up 1.76 per cent against the dollar, at $1.3378, after it emerged the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) [...]
New chancellor Philip Hammond says no need for emergency budget July 14, 2016 The recently appointed chancellor, Philip Hammond, has assured that there was no need for an emergency Budget. His predecessor, George Osborne, had warned he would be forced to slash public spending and increase taxes to fill a £30bn "black hole" following a Brexit vote. Read more: What to expect from chancellor Philip Hammond Speaking to Sky News [...]
May and the three Brexiteers lead Britain July 14, 2016 If there were any doubts that the new Prime Minister really meant it when she said “Brexit means Brexit” they were put to bed last night as she appointed three senior Leave campaigners to oversee the process of the UK's departure from the EU, the forging of new global trade deals and the creation of [...]
With the Bank of England expected to cut interest rates, is looser monetary policy now a necessity for developed economies? July 14, 2016 Alasdair Cavalla, senior economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research, says Yes. For central banks, today’s world looks very different to before the crisis. In a deflationary era, the trade-off between inflation and growth could hardly have moved further in the doves’ favour. China’s rise leaves unprecedented imbalances: overcapacity of supply; abundance of capital; and [...]
