What do today’s GDP figures mean for UK interest rates? October 27, 2016 The Bank of England looks set to delay another bout of emergency stimulus next week after this morning’s strong GDP figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK grew by a robust 0.5 per cent this morning, defying already-revised expectations of a 0.3 per cent gain in the first three months after the [...]
Growth smashes expectations and Nissan is investing here, but the pound still marches lower October 27, 2016 Expectation-busting growth figures, a new commitment to build cars in the UK, and diminishing chances of an interest rate cut this year weren't enough to stop the pound falling into familiar patterns today. Sterling suffered its customary afternoon sell-off yet again as the currency lost 0.6 per cent against the dollar, falling below $1.22 in afternoon trading. It [...]
Headache for ECB chief Mario Draghi as lending fails to light up October 27, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) may be forced to delay winding down its massive bond-buying programme after disappointing figures out from the Eurozone this morning. Stats on lending published by the ECB showed the amount of cash dished out to households and businesses grew by only 1.8 per cent in the year to September. That was [...]
Five things we learned from today’s GDP figures: Could Star Wars have saved us from a post-Brexit slump? October 27, 2016 A surprising set of GDP results came out this morning, revealing that the resilient economy had grown by 0.5 per cent in the last quarter. This was at odds to predictions from the Treasury earlier this year who thought that if the UK voted to leave the EU, economic growth could slow to one per cent. [...]
Wallonia deadlock broken, putting EU-Canada trade deal back on track October 27, 2016 The Belgian government has finally struck a deal with regional representatives from Wallonia to push forward with the landmark EU-Canada trade deal this morning. After a week of talks and multiple failures to negotiate a settlement, the news puts the EU back on course to formally sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) with [...]
Currency markets aren’t prepared for a Donald Trump victory October 27, 2016 We are less than a fortnight away from the culmination of arguably the most divisive US presidential campaign in history and currency markets are currently preparing themselves for another political spasm. Needless to say, in the same way that sterling was used as a pressure point in the run up to the EU referendum and [...]
How seven City analysts reacted to the surprise rise in UK GDP October 27, 2016 Scaremongers were once again proved wrong this morning, after it was revealed the UK's economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2016. The figure, by the Office for National Statistics, was much higher than the 0.1 per cent analysts had expected. Here's how the City reacted: ps. Today marks the 30th anniversary [...]
Brexit, what Brexit? UK economy grows by 0.5 per cent – slower than the previous quarter but better than economists had expected October 27, 2016 GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of the year, in a sign the economy has – so far – shrugged off the effects of Brexit. The statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are the first to cover the full three months after the UK voted to leave the [...]
No kidding: Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warns that Brexit uncertainty is bad for the economy October 27, 2016 Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Foundation, has warned that the uncertainty surrounding the UK's vote to leave the EU is bad for the economy. Speaking to Bloomberg this morning, she said businesses needed to know whether they would lose their access to passporting across the market when the UK leaves the bloc. The uncertainty [...]