London leads finance sector wage gowth as chartered accountants enjoy above inflation pay rise June 11, 2015 Finance sector workers’ pay has picked up, according to data released yesterday by Icas, the trade body for chartered accountants. The group found that 39 per cent of chartered accountants polled received an above-inflation pay rise in the last twelve months, in a survey of over 1,100 Icas members. Next year 67 per cent expect [...]
Cuts for South Korea and New Zealand interest rates June 11, 2015 New Zealand and South Korea both cut interest rates yesterday, following a host of other countries who have done so in 2015. South Korea’s central bank cut its interest rate to a record low of 1.5 per cent yesterday, its fourth cut in the last 12 months. Rates have been edging down since 2012, [...]
Britain’s ageing population will ruin the budget surplus plan, says OBR June 11, 2015 Britain's ageing population will throw a spanner in the works for George Osborne's new budget Surplus Rule. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), a rise in the proportion of people over working age will wipe out surpluses unless changes are made to taxes and spending. Read more: The world's ageing population is [...]
US oil and gas M&A falls to 12-year low as oil prices fall June 11, 2015 Mergers and acquisitions in the US oil and gas sector were at their lowest since 2003 in the first half of this year, new data has suggested. A survey by Dealogic showed M&A volume fell to $29.5bn (£19bn) over 202 deals in the six months to the end of June, down 50 per cent from [...]
Labour’s Liz Kendall has “no problem” with a budget surplus June 11, 2015 Labour leadership candidate Liz Kendall has said she has "no problem" with aiming for a budget surplus, a policy the government wants to enshrine in law, which commentators say is a political move designed to pressure the Labour party. Read more: UK budget since 1986: There has been deficits for 22 of 30 years "Labour should [...]
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis: “We will not accept a one per cent primary budget surplus” June 11, 2015 Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has told MPs that the country will not accept a primary budget surplus target of more than one per cent. Read more: S&P lowers Greece's credit rating further The country had originally proposed a target of 0.6 per cent for 2015 – significantly below the 1.5 per cent mooted by [...]
London house prices: As rents keep rising, here’s how the Monopoly board looks in 2015 June 11, 2015 Click to see table in a new window There has been a shake-up in the London property price hierarchy, and the most profitable places to be a landlord have moved dramatically. That well-established measure of London property values – the humble Monopoly board – has been shaken and stirred by fluctuations in the market, and [...]
Swedish krona jumps against the euro as it climbs out of deflationary spiral June 11, 2015 The Swedish krona jumped against the euro this morning after official data showed it had come out of deflation for the month of May. The krona rose more than one per cent to 0.108 against the euro, and 0.56 per cent to 0.1217 against the dollar. Prices in the country rose 0.1 per cent in [...]
South Korea cuts interest rate to record low amid Mers outbreak June 11, 2015 South Korea has had to slash its benchmark interest rate to a record low amid a deadly outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers). Bank of Korea cut its main interest rate by 0.25 per cent taking it to 1.5 per cent amid dampening domestic demand and slowing exports. "In particular, we are concerned [...]
Standard & Poor’s lowers Greece’s credit rating to CCC, warns it could be downgraded further June 11, 2015 Well, this is a surprise. Standard & Poor's has lowered Greece's credit rating one notch to CCC and said it could be lowered again within the next year as the country's financial situation worsens. Although normally S&P would be restricted from altering its rating of Greece outside a “pre-established calendar”, the agency said [...]