Looks like we’re not going back to $50 Brent crude after oil prices rose following positive news on supplies July 29, 2015 The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil jumped 1.1 per cent to $53.94 in late afternoon trading after a report showed a surprise dip in US oil reserves. A report by the US Energy Information Administration showed oil stocks fell to 459.7m barrels in the week to Friday, down 4.2m barrels from the [...]
Bank of England’s Jon Cunliffe warns over impact of a US rate hike July 29, 2015 The Bank of England's deputy governor for financial stability has voiced concerns over how financial markets will react to an interest rate rise by the US Fed. Sir John Cunliffe told the Guardian that global financial markets are "quite fragile" due to a lack of liquidity which can make it more difficult for traders to exit some [...]
CBI distributive trades survey: Britain’s retailers are expecting a slow summer July 29, 2015 A widely watched industry survey has shown UK retailers expect sales volumes to weaken further next month, after an already disappointing performance in July. The CBI distributive trades survey said 30 per cent of firms expect sales volumes to rise in the year to August, while 17 per cent said they expect them to fall, [...]
Chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen says rates will rise this year if economy remains on track causing dollar to jump July 29, 2015 The Federal Reserve has reiterated that it is on course to raise interest rates in 2015, as Chair of the Federal Reserve described the US economy’s prospects as “favourable”. Hiring has pushed the country towards maximum employment, while factors that have been holding back inflation were likely to diminish, Yellen indicated in a prepared statement [...]
Three charts showig how working in London differs to other cities July 29, 2015 A London working week is typically associated with long hours, heavy workloads as well as demanding clients, but a report released this week by Centre for Cities has shown there are some perks to working in the big smoke. Londoners are more likely to be in employment than their counterparts in large, medium and small city centres. [...]
Kazakhstan is a long way off the high rise life in China, but the Silk Road could take it in that direction July 29, 2015 Thousands of years ago on the ancient Silk Road, horses were to Kazakhstan what silk was to China— prime commodity. Chinese traders would traverse the Tian Shan mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, caravans loaded with silk, their most valuable product. In exchange, Kazakh nomads would equip them with Central Asian horses, prized for their strength [...]
Bank of England’s Andy Haldane says “no rush” to hike interest rates July 29, 2015 The Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane has said that there's "no rush" to raise interest rates, as some members of the monetary policy committee appear to be gearing up to vote for a rise next month. Haldane argued that the economy is still healing from the financial crisis, inflation remains extremely low and global risks [...]
China stocks suffer biggest one-day drop since the financial crisis July 29, 2015 There was more pain for investors in Chinese equities overnight after the stock market suffered its biggest one-day fall since February 2007. China's main Shanghai Composite Index shed 8.5 percent, to 3,725.56 points, while the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen plunged 8.6 percent, to 3,818.73 points. Read more: Are Chinese equity markets a bubble [...]
Which part of the UK has the most debt? South East and the East of England July 29, 2015 Individuals living in the south east of England are saddled with more debt than people in any other part of the country. They have the highest median financial debt, estimated at more than £4,500, while Londoners are most likely to struggle with repaying their debts, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics [...]
CBI industrial trends survey: British manufacturers are being hurt by the strong pound July 29, 2015 The strength of the pound and the Greek debt crisis continue to make life difficult for Britain's manufacturers. The CBI's monthly industrial trends survey showed firms' order books fell to their lowest level since July 2013. The monthly gauge dropped to -10 this month, from -7 in June, although it remains above the historical average [...]