Consumer borrowing growth hits decade-high February 29, 2016 Borrowing on credit cards and through overdrafts is growing at its fastest rate since January 2006, data published today by the Bank of England reveals. The stock of consumer credit reached £179.5bn in January, up 9.1 per cent on the same month last year. Total credit growth in the UK is now at its highest [...]
HSBC: Gulf Cooperation Council states face $94bn looming debt crunch February 29, 2016 One of the world's biggest banks has warned a $94bn debt crunch is looming over Arab countries. HSBC said that sovereign, financial and corporate borrowers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region must repay or refinance $94bn of bonds and loans in 2016 and 2017, Arabian Business reported. The GCC is an economic and political alliance comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab [...]
Eurozone inflation plummets back below zero after renewed fall in energy prices February 29, 2016 The Eurozone is back in deflation after only four months of positive price growth. Annual inflation in the currency-bloc fell to 0.2 per cent in February, according to an early flash estimate from Eurostat released this morning. It marks a sharp drop from January's 0.3 per cent. Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and [...]
London house prices: Demand for luxury new-build apartments will drop this year – and prices won’t recover until 2018 February 29, 2016 Demand for London's luxury new-build apartments has fallen, one of the world's largest property services companies has admitted – and prices won't begin to recover until 2018. JLL said it was cutting its growth forecast for the capital's high-end properties, after economic uncertainty and the chancellor's three per cent stamp duty hike for second home buyers [...]
Budget 2016: Economists warn of tough times ahead for the British consumer February 29, 2016 British households will have to rein in their spending next year as inflation creeps back up and a fresh round of austerity bites, economic forecasters are warning today. The EY Item Club, which uses Treasury models to make its forecasts, said consumers will enjoy “one last hurrah” this year while inflation remains below one per [...]
Financial sector leads professional job creation – Apsco February 29, 2016 Landing a role in finance got easier in January as the number of vacancies soared 12 per cent on the same month last year. Stronger demand was reflected in pay growth. Average salaries in banking jobs have gone up 4.9 per cent, according to the data released by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) [...]
Big data and the internet of things will add £322bn and 217,000 jobs to the economy by 2020 – CEBR February 29, 2016 Big data and the internet of things could add £322bn to the UK economy by 2020, new research from industry analysts and economists reveals today. The internet of things – the network of everyday items fitted with electronics to allow them to collect and exchange data – could lead to £72bn of efficiency gains and 67,000 new [...]
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King says the Eurozone is doomed to fail February 28, 2016 Mervyn King, the former governor of the Bank of England, has warned that the Eurozone is doomed to fail. Bailouts and other measures employed to keep the euro area intact "will lead to not only an economic but a political crisis", according to King's new book, The End of Alchemy, which is being serialised in [...]
Oil price nervous ahead of Opec mid-March meeting February 28, 2016 The oil price is set for another rocky week as tensions build ahead of a second round of historic talks to cap output levels. The Saudi Arabia led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has been negotiating a deal with non-Opec Russia to freeze oil production at January levels and will meet again in mid-March. [...]
Ahead of Budget 2016 on 16 March, the Resolution Foundation urges government to help more over 50s into work and rethink its old-fashioned approach to unemployment February 27, 2016 A think tank has offered a word of advice to chancellor George Osborne this morning ahead of the budget: if this government wants to achieve full employment, it must focus on helping over 50s get into work. Ahead of publishing a full report on employment next week, the Resolution Foundation urged government to put helping over 50s [...]