French bond yields rise as Fillon scandal threatens to deliver far-right Marine Le Pen the Presidency February 2, 2017 Investors are fleeing French government debt on fears that far-right Marine Le Pen will become President, as the candidacy of former favourite Francois Fillon continues to be tainted by a scandal involving his Welsh-born wife. The yield on the French 10-year government bond has risen steadily over the past month to reach highs of 1.128 [...]
Stop expecting central bankers to grow the economy: They can’t February 2, 2017 In 2008, monetary authorities around the world embarked on an unprecedented series of experiments. As economies tanked and governments throttled back on fiscal measures in the face of huge debts and deficits, people looked to central bankers to use monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. Since then we have seen a range of once outlandish tools [...]
Britain can lead the world in free trade – by keeping trade deals simple February 2, 2017 In some ways, the Brexit referendum settled a long-running question. However, it has also raised more profound issues that this government now needs to address. These include the question of whether we should adopt a policy of openness, free trade and liberalisation of regulation at home. And then, should we take the lead in promoting such [...]
The UK’s SME manufacturers have seen new orders grow as price pressures rise February 2, 2017 Domestic orders grew at the fastest pace in two years to give the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a welcome boost ahead of Brexit, according to a new survey. Almost a third of SMEs say domestic demand has increased, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The outlook for the [...]
Top business leaders are getting to work on making British industry digital to boost productivity and jobs February 1, 2017 It's full speed ahead for Britain's digital economy as top business leaders embark on ambitious plans to pull industry into the modern age and position itself at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution. Increasing productivity and creating highly-skilled jobs will be the focus of the ambitious new plan to put digital technology, such as artificial [...]
US Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged February 1, 2017 US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said interest rates would be maintained at 0.5-0.75 per cent as the labour market continues to strengthen and economic activity expands. At the Federal Open Market Committee meeting (FOMC) today, Yellen said inflation increased in recent quarters but is still below the committee's two per cent long-run objective. She said the [...]
Financial Stability Board sets out plans to minimise “too-big-to-fail” clearing house risk February 1, 2017 The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has set out proposals for new rules around “living wills” for clearing houses to ensure they do not become a new source of “too-big-to-fail risk”. The blueprint, published today, is designed to ensure that collapsing clearing houses, or CCPs, do not cause further damage to the financial system and are not [...]
US production growth booms as manufacturing expands at fastest rate since 2014 February 1, 2017 The US manufacturing sector grew faster than expected in January to expand at the fastest rate since the end of 2014, according to a widely followed indicator of economic health. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for America’s manufacturers reached 56 per cent, according to the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), up from 54.5 per cent [...]
The Morning Wire Shadow Monetary Policy Committee votes to hold rates steady February 1, 2017 The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to leave interest rates and its quantitative easing policy unchanged at the latest meeting of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Most economists expect serious talk of a rate rise to be reserved until the latter half of the year at least – and the possibility remains of a further [...]
US private sector smashes expectations as most jobs added since June February 1, 2017 The US private sector jobs market smashed economists’ consensus expectations in January in a further sign the labour market in the world’s largest economy is heating up. Employment in the US private sector rose by 246,000 jobs in the last month, according to payrolls company ADP, the fastest rate since June 2016. This far outstripped [...]