Poorest households could lose more than £5,000 in benefits after Brexit June 9, 2016 A vote to leave the European Union could result in some of the poorest households in the UK losing up to £5,542 a year in tax credits and welfare payments in a worst-case scenario. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has calculated the likely impact of a vote to leave the EU on [...]
UK records strongest export growth since crisis as economy shrugs off Brexit fears June 9, 2016 The UK posted its smallest trade deficit in seven months in April as bumper export performance proved the latest sign that Brexit uncertainty is failing to knock the UK economy. British firms and consumers bought £3.3bn more from abroad than they sold overseas in April, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this [...]
Super Mario warns national governments that the cost of delaying reforms is painfully high June 9, 2016 The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) has said political intransigence across the Eurozone is costing jobs and growth. Mario Draghi has upped the ante in his calls for reform in the Eurozone in a speech in Brussels this morning, warning that employment and productivity will take a unrecoverable hit if governments do not take his [...]
Tory MP Sarah Wollaston ditches Vote Leave over “untrue” NHS claims June 8, 2016 Tory MP Sarah Wollaston has quit Vote Leave claiming the Brexit group's assertion that leaving the EU would free up £350m for the NHS "simply isn't true". The health select committee chairman told the BBC: "For someone like me who has long campaigned for open and honest data in public life I could not have set foot on [...]
Oil just gained market share for the first time since 1999 – here’s why June 8, 2016 Oil remained the world’s leading fuel in 2015, accounting for 32.9 per cent of global energy consumption, BP said in its benchmark industry report today. The report found that prices for all fossil fuels fell in 2015. This led to adjustments in the energy markets including boosting demand for oil which gained market share for the first [...]
Corporate debt gets even cheaper as ECB launches next phase of quantitative easing June 8, 2016 The cost of borrowing for big companies in the Eurozone nudged down today as the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its corporate bond-buying programme. From today, investment grade non-financial corporate debt is eligible to be included in the ECB’s €80bn (£63bn) a month quantitative easing package. Analysts suggest the Bank will try to buy between [...]
Uncertainty? What uncertainty? UK economy picks up in May as Niesr estimates faster GDP growth June 8, 2016 The UK economy is steering clear of a pre-referendum slowdown, a fresh estimate of economic growth, published this afternoon, has revealed. According to the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (Niesr), the economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the three months to the end of May, killing off the idea that Brexit uncertainty has paralysed [...]
Sterling holds steady against major currencies as flurry of EU referendum opinion polls eases June 8, 2016 The pound has held steady today after a frantic week in the foreign exchange markets as market-moving referendum news proved elusive and traders were able to catch their breath. Sterling was up 0.3 per cent against the US dollar at $1.4590 at lunchtime, while it was unchanged against the euro at €1.2817. Currencies have been at the forefront [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 8, 2016 Mixed data out of China is giving economists and experts hope the country is headed for a soft landing, while Hillary Clinton has given her first speech as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Here's what you need to know before the US open at 14:30 London time. US stock futures are looking up ahead of the open. The [...]
Manufacturing output smashes expectations to defy Brexit slowdown June 8, 2016 British manufacturing output surged in April, denting fears that the UK economy is on pause ahead of the EU referendum. Industrial production climbed by two per cent during the month alone to stand 1.6 per cent higher than April last year – jumping well ahead of expectations that the industry would suffer another modest decline. [...]