As the ECB unveils rate cuts and asset purchase plans, can it save the Eurozone from disaster? September 4, 2014 Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, says Yes. Yesterday’s announcement by the European Central Bank (ECB) – that it’s cutting rates and will buy asset-backed securities and euro-denominated covered bonds from October – will help avoid disaster, but huge risks remain. The rate cuts will only have a marginal impact, and little is known about [...]
ECB rates, growth and stimulus: Four charts that tell you what you need to know September 4, 2014 Today has been a busy day for central bank watchers. The Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted to keep rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent – but the European Central Bank (ECB) was where today's action really was. The ECB, against expectations, cut interest rates to 0.05 per cent and later [...]
Euro slides to one-year low as ECB cuts rates to 0.05pc, but confirms stimulus programme September 4, 2014 The euro slid to 1.302 against the dollar, its lowest level since July 2013, after the European Central Bank cut interest rates from 0.15 per cent to 0.05 per cent and confirmed plans to start a programme of buying asset-backed securities. ECB president Mario Draghi hinted during a speech at Jackson Hole last month that the [...]
French unemployment edges higher adding to Hollande’s woes September 4, 2014 The unemployment rate in France has edged higher in another blow to President Hollande’s efforts to reduce jobless rates- one of a variety of economic woes for the French leader. 10.2 per cent of the French population were out of work in the second quarter of this year, compared to 10.1 per cent in the [...]
Boris Johnson unveils £913m plan to protect London cyclists with Crossrail for bikes September 3, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday unveiled plans for two urban cycleways across London dubbed “Crossrail for the bike.”. They will offer cyclists protection from other road traffic and are the centrepiece of a £913m project to convince more Londoners into using two wheels to get around. The north-south route will run from Elephant & Castle in [...]
Eurozone service sector’s slowdown puts pressure on ECB to undertake quantitative easing September 3, 2014 The Eurozone’s services firms flagged a further slowdown in the troubled currency bloc’s growth yesterday, with surveys indicating that the region is growing at the slowest pace this year so far, putting pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB). The Eurozone’s composite purchasing managers’ index, collated by Markit, dropped to just 52.5 – the lowest [...]
Ukraine can’t win in this crisis – but Putin can be made to pay for his victory September 3, 2014 IT IS a standard rule of thumb in global risk analysis that the side in a conflict calling for a ceasefire is the side that is losing. Until two weeks ago, President Putin of Russia – seeing his Kremlin-sponsored separatists on the run in the face of a rejuvenated Ukrainian army – was all for [...]
Diamond Dave Lewis surprises Tesco staff with rare appearance at Birmingham conference September 2, 2014 Twitter was abuzz yesterday with hashtags like #inspired and #TheFutureLooksGreat after the new boss of Tesco paid a surprise visit to a leadership conference in Birmingham. Retail newbie Dave Lewis, who has jumped in to save Tesco, made news headlines after he wrote to his 500,000 employees asking them to email him with ideas [...]
London Report: Mining shares lift FTSE despite doubt over ECB September 2, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index steadied near a two-month high yesterday, with some caution before the European Central Bank’s policy meeting tomorrow offsetting a rally in miners prompted by stronger metals prices. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.06 per cent higher at 6,829.17 points after rising up to 6,849.28 points, the highest level since early [...]
Was the Davies Commission right to rule out Boris Island as an option for airport expansion? September 2, 2014 Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport, says Yes. We share the mayor’s passion for London, as well as his desire to maintain its status as the best-connected city in the world. But what is needed above all is certainty that additional airport capacity will be delivered. And while ambitious, the Thames Estuary airport option [...]
