US services PMI grows at fastest pace since October 2015, pushing the Dow to fresh record highs December 5, 2016 The rise in new business growth drove US services to expand at the fastest rate since October 2015, according to a closely watched measure of business activity, adding to the weight of data supporting the case for a rise in US interest rates and pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fresh all-time intraday highs. [...]
Italian government bond yields jump as investors react to Matteo Renzi’s resignation after Italian referendum defeat December 5, 2016 Italian 10-year bond yields rose above two per cent on Monday as markets pushed down the country’s banks further in reaction to the larger than expected rejection of Matteo Renzi's constitutional reform in Sunday’s referendum. Yields, which move inversely to prices, had moved to 2.024 per cent in the early afternoon, a climb of more [...]
The UK’s services sector grew unexpectedly fast last month – pushing up GDP expectations December 5, 2016 Growth in the UK's three main sectors suggests the economy will 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, against Bank of England expectations of 0.4 per cent, new figures have suggested. The purchasing managers' index for the services sector, published today by Markit, grew unexpectedly fast in November, rising to 55.2 from 54.5 last month – [...]
The immigration debate needs liberal voices December 5, 2016 The debate over immigration would continue to rage even if the UK had voted to remain in the EU. Indeed, with fresh figures showing that non-EU migrants made up the bulk of recent arrivals, one could argue it would rage all the harder if we hadn’t voted to ‘take back control’. But with splits emerging in [...]
British households taking on more debt as almost half struggle to pay credit card bills on time December 5, 2016 Almost half of British consumers struggle to pay off their credit card bill each month, while the proportion taking on more debt over the last five years has risen sharply. Borrowing has continued to rise to record highs in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union. The proportion of borrowers who have [...]
ECB set to unleash more firepower in December meeting December 5, 2016 The European Central Bank is widely expected to extend its quantitative easing programme by six months at its next policy meeting on Thursday, amid ongoing political risk and stubbornly low inflation. The bank is largely expected to keep the size of its monthly bond purchases unchanged beyond its current end date of March 2017, at [...]
Italian PM Matteo Renzi resigns after crushing referendum defeat December 5, 2016 The euro dived to a 20-month low in the early hours of this morning after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign following a crushing defeat in the country’s referendum on constitutional reform. Voters comprehensively rejected Renzi’s flagship proposals to streamline parliament, predominantly by cutting the size and power of the Senate. At the time [...]
Venezuela introduces new higher-value notes in response to the world’s highest rate of inflation December 4, 2016 Venezuela’s central bank has announced that it will introduce a new set of coins and notes as the country with the world’s highest inflation struggles to make its currency usable. Six new bills will enter circulation from 15 December, ranging in value from 500 Venezuelan bolivars up to 20,000 bolivars. This means the highest-value note [...]
The Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge isn’t accepting the new £5 note December 3, 2016 The Bank of England has already said it's asked its supplier to work on "potential solutions" to the issue of animal fat in its new £5 notes. But until then a vegetarian cafe in Cambridge is taking a stand by announcing it won't be accepting said fivers. The BoE confirmed using a trace of animal fat, [...]
US non-farm payroll: US adds 178,000 jobs in November as wages rise and unemployment falls December 2, 2016 US non-farm payroll data has shown that the US added 178,000 jobs in the month that saw Donald Trump win the Presidential election. Market experts had been expecting an increase of 165,000 in November, slightly above the 161,000 reported for October. Unemployment dropped to 4.6 per cent and wages were up 2.5 per cent. The jobs [...]