As French growth grinds to a halt, is the country’s economic model fundamentally broken? August 1, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. France’s economic model is irretrievably broken. Along one axis we have a spectrum of possible economic models. We can have low tax and redistribution market economies and high tax and redistribution ones. Non-market economies do not work. Further, the more we tax and redistribute, the [...]
Week ahead: Banks take centre stage for results and interest rates August 1, 2016 The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time in seven years this week as it assesses the fallout from the UK’s vote to quit the European Union. The Bank held fire in July in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, catching some analysts off guard. Policy committee members [...]
Isis fighters launch attack on key oil field in Northern Iraq July 31, 2016 At least five workers were killed and major oil pumping was shut down after Islamic state militants attacked a gas facility and an oil field in Northern Iraq today. Four employees were shot dead and two guards left critically injured after four gunmen stormed an AB2 gas compressor station in the early hours of this morning. [...]
Interest rates could be about to get more interesting, with cut to 0.25 per cent widely expected next week July 31, 2016 Banks and savers alike will be bracing themselves for Thursday's Bank of England announcement, when it is largely expected interest rates will be chopped. The bank surprised many a few weeks ago when it opted to hold interest rates at its historically low 0.5 per cent level, where it has stuck since March 2009. Many [...]
You’re probably not earning that “graduate premium” you were told about July 31, 2016 Young people entering higher education to boost their future earnings are in for a shock, according to new research, which claims the idea of an earnings premium for graduates has become a myth. “Any politician or policy-maker who dangles the carrot of an average lifetime earnings premium should be challenged for gross mis-selling," said co-founder [...]
US second quarter GDP was weaker than expected – and first quarter growth has been revised down July 29, 2016 US GDP has missed expectations in the second quarter coming in at 1.2 per cent – far below the forecast 2.5 per cent. To make things worse, GDP growth in the first quarter was also revised downwards from 1.1 per cent to 0.8 per cent. Consumer spending – which makes up most of US GDP – grew [...]
Business shows its bounceback-ability as confidence jumps after Brexit fall July 29, 2016 Confidence among UK firms has bounced back in July after plummeting in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, a leading indicator has found. The Lloyds business barometer jumped 23 points over the past four weeks to stand at 29 on an index where positive scores indicate overall optimism. In the days after the vote [...]
Never mind GDP – euro edges up as eurozone inflation hits eight-month high July 29, 2016 The euro rose 0.2 per cent against the dollar to $1.1100 this morning after a slew of figures from the eurozone suggested things are getting better, albeit slowly. Eurozone inflation rose to the lofty heights of 0.2 per cent in July, its highest since the end of last year, better than analysts' expectations of 0.1 per cent. [...]
Oil prices on a slick-ery slope: Brent crude slips through $42 per barrel mark and into bear market July 29, 2016 Just when you thought the price of a barrel of oil couldn't tumble any further, it goes and does this. Brent crude has dropped past the $42 mark today and into bear territory, as the fresh fall places the price hovering around 20 per cent lower than it was back in June. At time of writing, [...]
This one chart shows how bad real wage growth in the UK really is July 29, 2016 Since the downturn wage growth in the UK has been sluggish, to say the least. But now figures put together for City PM by Statista using figures from the TUC has shown quite how disappointing growth has been: between 2007 and 2015, wages have fallen 10.4 per cent in real terms. The only OECD country [...]
