Play along to Budget 2016 with interactive George Osborne buzzword bingo! March 16, 2016 Roll up, roll up – it’s the event we’ve all been waiting for. Chancellor George Osborne stands up to deliver his eighth Budget today. Bored of hearing the same phrases over and over? Now you can inject a bit of excitement, by roping in your friends and colleagues and playing Budget bingo at home. How to [...]
Libor scandal: Serious Fraud Office (SFO) tells Tom Hayes to hand it all over as prosecution demands convicted former UBS and Citigroup trader’s assets, including wedding rings and Surrey house March 15, 2016 Fraud squad prosecutors issued Tom Hayes with a stark ultimatum on Tuesday – that he must hand over nearly everything he owns or face more time in jail. At a hearing in the Old Bailey, the prosecution alleged that Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was only paid as handsomely as he was because he secured [...]
Bank of Japan expected to loosen policy next month as problems with negative interest rates start to emerge March 15, 2016 Economists are betting on Japanese central bankers loosening policy further next month, but some have warned its policy of negative interest rates is already creating negative side effects. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its stimulus measures unchanged this morning, keeping the annual rate of its so-called quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE) at ¥ 80 trillion [...]
US retail sales fall 0.1 per cent in February as cash spent on gasoline plummets March 15, 2016 US retail sales dropped in February, but were likely held down by lower prices. Spending at retailers fell 0.1 per cent from in February to $447.3bn (£315.7bn), according to the Commerce Department. On the same month last year sales were up 3.1 per cent. The figure is not adjusted for inflation. Sales at gasoline stations [...]
BlackRock adds its voice to warnings over market bounce, as rally begins to lose its lustre March 15, 2016 A market bounce since January and February lows is at risk of crashing back to earth, according to Russ Koesterich chief investment strategist at BlackRock. BlackRock is the latest financial institution to warn that the current rally may be short lived after Morgan Stanley yesterday said that economic and political circumstances may take its toll on company shares. The FTSE 100 [...]
The inflation basket of goods: As coffee pods are in and nightclubs out, here’s a short history of nearly seven decades of shopping basket shake-ups March 15, 2016 The party's over. Nightclub entry fees have been dropped from the official measure of prices in the UK, the ONS basket of goods, while our love affair with leggings and nail varnish have gained access to the list. (Find out what else was dropped and the latest items added here.) The yearly review is a barometer of changing [...]
Eurozone employment hits highest level since 2009 but financial sector job growth stalls March 15, 2016 Employment in the Eurozone climbed at the end of last year as the currency-bloc's moderate economic recovery continued. However, the Eurozone's financial sector failed to register a growth in job numbers. There were 151.9m people in work in the Eurozone between October and December, according to figures published by EU statistical office Eurostat this morning. It is 0.3 [...]
Inflation basket of goods: Coffee pods, leggings and nail varnish are in, nightclub entry and CD Roms are out – these are our changing shopping habits according to the ONS March 15, 2016 The party's over. No longer do we head to a nightclub for a weekend blow out leading to entry fees being dropped as a measure of inflation – but a tipple of cream liqueur is now on the menu. George Clooney has something to answer for, as coffee pods like Nespresso are also added to the shopping [...]
A record $1.34 trillion of property will change hands this year as new capital, investor appetite and geopolitical unrest drives investment March 15, 2016 A record $1.34 trillion of global real estate is expected to change hands this year, as new sources of capital and investor appetite combined with geopolitical unrest and increased uncertainty drives further investment into the sector. Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlas Outlook Report, presented this morning at the annual MIPIM property conference in Cannes, shows that [...]
Putin orders Russian troops from Syria declaring mission accomplished, as foreign ministry tasked with intensifying attempts to broker a peace deal March 14, 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the main part of the Russian military to begin withdrawing from Syria, claiming the mission has achieved its objectives. According to a Kremlin spokesman Putin telephoned his ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to inform him Russian forces will begin to leave the country from Tuesday. Russia's role in the conflict allowed Syria to recapture territory from [...]