UK pensions: Shortfall in UK private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has doubled over the last decade to £0.8 trillion March 29, 2016 Private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes carried a collective deficit of £0.8 trillion in 2015, around double the shortfall compared with roughly a decade ago, according to research out today. The study by JLT Employee Benefits discovered that DB schemes had £1.3 trillion in assets in 2015, compared with £0.65 trillion in 2006, but the schemes also had liabilities [...]
Financial services lead strong growth in professional sector pay March 29, 2016 Pay the professional sector is rising robustly, new figures released today show. The average salary in the professional sector – which includes lawyers, doctors, accountants and generally any role requiring a degree – was 5.1 per cent higher in February than the same month last year. Pay for accountants rose 8.9 per cent, the data [...]
Oil price dips on low volumes as growing stockpiles spook investors March 28, 2016 Oil prices dipped under $40 per barrel yesterday, adding to declines recorded in the tail end of last week. The price of international benchmark Brent crude climbed to $42.51 in early trading last week, before sliding five per cent over four days. Last night the price of a barrel of Brent was trading at $39.92, while [...]
UK house prices: St Ives in Cornwall is having a referendum on banning second homes March 28, 2016 There's an important referendum happening this summer. No, not that one. For the residents of the sunny seaside town of St Ives, as well as voting in the EU referendum, they will vote on something a little closer to home – whether to ban people who are not local to the area from owning property as a second home, many of [...]
Core US prices maintain fast pace as personal income growth slows March 28, 2016 Growth in US consumer incomes slowed in February, according to figures released today. However, inflation is on course to rise toward the US Federal Reserve’s two per cent target this year, the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows. Total personal incomes rose 0.2 per cent, marking a slowdown from January’s bumper 0.5 per [...]
Bank of England poised to announce new measures to clamp down on the buy-to-let market March 28, 2016 The Bank of England appears poised to introduce new rules to clamp down on the buy-to-let property market amid fears that the sector poses big risks to the UK economy. Chancellor George Osborne told MPs last week that it is “highly likely” that he will give the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) powers over the buy-to-let [...]
UK pensions: Nearly one year on from the introduction of the pension freedoms rules, annuities remain popular March 28, 2016 Nearly one year on from the introduction of rules designed to revamp the pensions system, annuity sales have bounced back, research out today has found. The study by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) discovered that 21,200 annuity plans, worth £1.1bn, were purchased during the fourth quarter of 2015, while 61,700 annuities, worth £3.3bn, have been bought [...]
US economy: Commerce Department’s estimate revised up to 1.4 per cent with consumer spending boost March 25, 2016 The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the latest official estimate. The GDP figure, announced by the US Commerce Department today, was above an initial estimate of 0.7 per cent. And the second estimate from analysts suggested growth would be one [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices heading for biggest weekly slide in two months March 24, 2016 Global oil prices slipped under the $40 per barrel mark today, putting it on course for its biggest weekly slide in two months. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 1.6 per cent to $39.81 per barrel this morning. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, slumped 1.9 per cent to $39.05. The oil price [...]
IMF: Low oil prices won’t kickstart economic growth until interest rates rise March 24, 2016 Why haven't low oil prices delivered a "shot in the arm" to global economic growth as many economists had initially expected? The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lays the blame squarely on the world's central banks, which have taken monetary policy into unchartered territory. In a new blog post published today, co-authors Maurice Obstfeld, Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, and Rabah [...]