Japanese officials hit the brakes on yen rally August 17, 2016 The Japanese yen has eased back today after a top government official threatened direct intervention if the currency continued to strengthen. The yen broke below ¥100 against the US dollar yesterday as investors continued to flock to the currency, seen as a safe haven because of Japan's low inflation. The dramatic rally over the last [...]
The Office for National Statistics has put together an economists supergroup to avoid dodgy data August 17, 2016 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has beefed up its research team with the appointment of a new expert panel of economists – a supergroup, if you will – as it seeks to respond to a string of criticism. Former Bank of England rate-setter Martin Weale, who has just left the monetary policy committee (MPC) after a [...]
Household income surpasses pre-crisis levels – but not for those in work August 17, 2016 Disposable incomes have finally reached their pre-crisis high after a seven-year battle to recover from the recession. UK households had an average of £26,400 to spend in the last financial year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up 2.7 per cent on the year before and back above the £26,000 level reached in 2007/08. The [...]
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund worried about Brexit uncertainty August 17, 2016 Norway's sovereign wealth fund rode out market turbulence in the second quarter to boost its holdings by an extra £8bn. The world's largest fund of its kind clocked a return of 1.3 per cent – just shy of the market average – as it highlighted "sharp" volatility as a result of the UK's Brexit referendum. With [...]
With inflation expected to hit 3 per cent in 2017, is the Bank of England right to prioritise growth over price stability? August 16, 2016 Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY Item Club, says Yes. In light of the sharp post-referendum drop in the value of the pound, prices of imported goods are set to increase. As a result, inflation will rise over the next year. As our forecast suggests, CPI inflation is expected to peak at around 3 [...]
Competition watchdog threatens Intercontinental Exchange’s Trayport takeover August 16, 2016 The Competition watchdog has thrown into doubt Intercontinental Exchange's takeover of commodities trading software company Trayport. The Competition and Markets Authority said today that the $650m deal could result in less competition for wholesale European utilities trades. It issued a list of possible remedies, which includes a forced sale. The CMA is worried about higher fees for [...]
Oil somersaults after disappointing US inflation data August 16, 2016 Crude turned negative before recovering slightly this afternoon, after disappointing US inflation data shattered the brighter sentiment which had helped it to a five-week high earlier in the day. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slipped 0.40 per cent to $48.16 (£37.11) per barrel on London's ICE Futures Exchange, before paring losses to trade at about $48.52. West Texas Intermediate crude on [...]
No problems for the Old Lady as Carney snaps up government bonds in QE programme August 16, 2016 The Bank of England's quantitative easing programme went off without a hitch this afternoon, allaying fears Threadneedle Street may need to change tact. In the Bank's second round of buying super-long-term government bonds, investors offered to sell £3.1bn to the Bank – 2.67 times the amount it needed to buy. Last week, the Bank fell [...]
China gives green light to latest stock market tie-up August 16, 2016 Investors will soon be able to tap in to China's fledgling tech sector with the latest flagship international stock-market tie up set to be launched later this year. The Chinese premier signalled today the long-awaited Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect had been given the green light by the country's state council, meaning international investors will be able [...]
US Federal Reserve frozen by weak US inflation as price rises slip back August 16, 2016 Inflation slipped back in the US economy in July, further easing the pressure on the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. The consumer prices index (CPI) came in at 0.8 per cent in July, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in figures released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics this afternoon. That was down from [...]
