Hopes of US-China trade deal boost Asian stocks amid Hong Kong local elections November 25, 2019 Asian stocks rallied slightly overnight, as investors hoped for progress in the trade war between the US and China. It comes in part as a reaction to comments by US national security adviser Robert O’Brian over the weekend, that an initial – or so called phase one – trade agreement with China is still possible [...]
Conservative manifesto: How will Boris Johnson tax and spend? November 24, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched the Conservative manifesto with a pledge that he would increase spending by a fraction of Labour’s plans in a “sensible, moderate” approach to the economy. According to the Conservatives’ sums, the party would increase day-to-day spending by £2.9bn a year by 2023-24, compared to an £82.9bn increase under Labour. [...]
Huawei: The fake choice between US and China will weaken the world economy November 22, 2019 Over the last year, the UK and its European partners have been asked to make a false choice between the US and China. What started with a series of false claims about Huawei’s role in telecoms infrastructure has broadened into a wider campaign that places the very concept of globalisation and the global economy at [...]
Here’s how much you need to earn to be considered rich November 22, 2019 A fiery debate was sparked last night about what makes a person “rich” after a man on BBC Question Time wrongly claimed he was not even in the top 50 per cent of earners – despite bringing home £80,000 a year. The man laid into Labour candidate Richard Burgeon, who was on the show to [...]
Eurozone PMI: Economy stagnates as German services sector plummets November 22, 2019 The Eurozone economy remained close to stagnation in November as activity sank to a two-month low. The bloc’s economy barely registered growth, hitting a measure of 50.3 on IHS Markit’s closely followed Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers; Index (PMI). Read more: Pound slips as UK private sector suffers worst fall since 2016Read more: How the pound [...]
New ECB president Christine Lagarde tells governments to hike spending to tackle downturn November 22, 2019 New European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde has encouraged governments to use fiscal policy to boost the Eurozone’s lacklustre growth, continuing the message of her predecessor Mario Draghi. In her first speech as ECB president, the former French finance minister said there is “a cross-cutting case for investment in a common future” as growth [...]
Exports and extra spending help Germany avoid recession November 22, 2019 Rising exports, consumer consumption and an increase in government spending helped Germany avoid recession in the third quarter of the year, a breakdown of the statistics showed today. German GDP grew by 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter in the three months to September, data showed last week, meaning it dodged a technical recession after [...]
National insurance payment cut to mostly benefit middle and higher-earners, says IFS November 21, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to raise the national insurance contribution (NIC) threshold would mostly benefit middle and higher-income households, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. The Conservatives intend to raise the point at which workers pay national insurance to £9,500 in 2020/21 from its currently-planned level of £8,788. The party also intends [...]
OECD: Global growth in 2019 will be worst since financial crisis November 21, 2019 The global economy is set to grow at its slowest pace since the financial crisis this year, the OECD has said, warning that governments are failing to adequately tackle the problem. In a gloomy update to its forecasts, the Paris-based organisation said countries were also failing on tackling climate change, the digitisation of economies and [...]
UK government borrowing jumps in October ahead of post-election splurge November 21, 2019 The UK government borrowed much more than expected last month, official figures have shown, with October borrowing hitting its highest in five years. The increase in borrowing comes even before one of the two main parties has had a chance to carry out large spending increases following the General Election on 12 October. Read more: [...]