Eurozone economic recovery struggling to gain momentum as unemployment remains high June 3, 2015 Unemployment in the currency bloc was still high at 11.1 per cent in April The Eurozone economy is gradually improving but its recovery is failing to build on a solid start to the year, figures published yesterday show. The rate of joblessness in the Eurozone edged down in April, marking 24 months of [...]
One chart showing Greece’s upcoming repayment deadlines June 3, 2015 There are whispers this could be week the Greece finally manages to agree a deal with its creditors, unlocking billions of euros and staving off bankruptcy. Greece must pay €1.6bn (£1.2bn) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between now and 19 June – starting with €300m (£218m) due on Friday. If it misses this deadline it'll get [...]
A third of all new businesses will be pop-ups by 2017 June 3, 2015 It seems the pop-up revolution has well and truly begun, after new research showed 11.6m people plan to start their own business ventures within the next two years and 29 per cent of those plan to start out with pop-ups. The study, by EE, showed pop-ups, shops that open short-term businesses in available retail space, [...]
Pound down against the dollar as UK service sector’s growth slows at the fastest rate in four years, hitting four month low June 3, 2015 The UK services sector has suffered the biggest dent in its growth since 2011 in what could be a sign of a weakening recovery, causing the pound to drop 0.4 per cent against the dollar. This took the exchange rate to $1.5275 for every pound. The Markit/CIPS purchasing manager’s index, a measure of growth in [...]
TPP: Wikileaks crowdfunds bounty for trade deal secrets of Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership June 3, 2015 Wikileaks is seeking to get hold of confidential information about the major free trade deal being negotiated between the US and Asia – by crowdfunding a $100,000 reward. The whistleblowing organisation has already raised a third of the money it needs to put up as a bounty for information about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from [...]
UK house prices: The proportion of house buyers shunning mortgages for cash purchases has hit a record high June 3, 2015 More people than ever before are buying houses without the need for a mortgage, according to new figures. Almost four in 10 people (38 per cent) paid for their properties in cash during the first quarter of the year, Nationwide has said. This mitigated subdued mortgage lending data to some extent. There are signs that [...]
With debt of £221,000 per household, Generation Y will be the first generation to experience a lower quality of life than its parents June 3, 2015 The UK is a nation of secret debt addicts, and Generation Y (those born after 1980) is going to be left to pick up the tab, a study by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) warned today – meaning it will be the first generation to be worse off than its parents. The think tank [...]
UK house price growth slows to lowest rate in over a year June 3, 2015 UK house price growth slowed in May, with the annual growth rate slowing to an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in May – down from 5.2 per cent in April and the lowest rate since August 2013. The figures The average cost of a house in the UK now stands at £195,166 – the [...]
David Cameron U-turns from his opposition to pay rises for MPs as salaries set to hit £74,000 June 2, 2015 Members of Parliament are set to see their annual salaries rise by 10.3 per cent, to £74,000 in September, according to a new report from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). Despite previously saying that the above-inflation pay rises were “simply unacceptable,” Prime Minister David Cameron has now said he will not stop them. IPSA, an [...]
Joy for shoppers as prices drop for the 25th consecutive month June 2, 2015 UK shop prices dropped by 1.9 per cent in May compared with the same month last year, according to figures released today by the British Retail Consortium. This is the same rate of decline seen in April and marks over two years of shop price deflation. The overall figure was helped by food prices, which fell [...]