Homebuilder confidence beats expectations August 15, 2013 Confidence among US housebuilders rose unexpectedly in August, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The NAHB’s housing market index measures home sales and expected home building in the future, and rose to 59 from 56 the month before. Analysts had expected to see a slight fall to 56. Paul Diggle, [...]
US industrial production unchanged in July August 15, 2013 US industrial production was unchanged in July, the US Federal Reserve has said, falling short of analyst expectations of 0.3 per cent growth. The month before production had increased by a downwardly revised 0.2 per cent. This month, a 2.1 per cent monthly rise in mining output more or less offset a 2.1 per cent [...]
US inflation hits Fed target August 15, 2013 The annual rate of inflation in the US hit the Federal Reserve's target in July, rising to 2.0 per cent from 1.8 per cent the month before (release). This came as US jobless claims – a key indicator of future unemployment levels – dropped off unexpectedly, prompting fears of an imminent tapering of the Fed's [...]
US jobless claims fall unexpectedly to six-year low August 15, 2013 The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits in the US for the first time fell unexpectedly in the week to 10 August 2013. Some 320,000 people began claiming in the week, down from a revised 335,000 the week before. Analysts had expected to see 335,000. The total number of people claiming unemployment benefits [...]
Fed needs more data before it can make a tapering decision August 15, 2013 Speaking ahead of US inflation data, St Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard has said the Fed would need more data before it can make a a definitive decision about the timeline for tapering off its asset purchase programme. He reiterated that a decision to reduce the pace of asset purchases would not change the [...]
Walmart revises down earnings forecast as US comparable sales miss August 15, 2013 Asda owner Walmart has reported same-store sales in the US fell by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of the year – missing analyst expectations of a one per cent rise (release). Walmart revised down its full-year earnings per share (EPS) expectation to a range of $5.10 to $5.30 from the previous range of [...]
Buffett boosts stake in General Motors, reduces interest in Kraft August 15, 2013 Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway made some significant changes to its stake in key companies in the second quarter of the year, the company has announced (release). Berkshire said its pre-tax earnings increased by nearly 50 per cent to $4.6bn from $3.2bn in the same period the year before. The US conglomerate revealed it [...]
Brent crude driven higher on Egypt turmoil August 15, 2013 The price of brent crude has risen to $111(£71.46) a barrel after the violence within Egypt. The fear is not over a fall in oil production, as Egypt is not a major producer of oil, but the possiblity of violence spreading into nearby major oil-exporting nations or to the distruption to the Suez Canal, a [...]
Proportion of A level papers given top marks falls for second year August 15, 2013 The number of students gaining an A or A* grade at A-level has fallen for the second year running as students opt for the tougher options. Some 26.3 per cent of papers this year were marked A or A*, down 0.3 percentage points from the year before. The number of entries marked as A* also [...]
What the analysts are saying about UK retail sales growth August 15, 2013 Source: Capital Economics Earlier this morning, the Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales jumped by 3.0 per cent year-on-year in July, boosted by sunny weather and food sales. For the most part, analysts seemed cautious about getting too excited over the data and prospects for a sustainable recovery. Martin Beck, UK economist [...]