Economists urge Bank of England to postpone interest rate rise October 8, 2015 City A.M.’s panel of economists urged the UK’s rate-setters to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5 per cent this month, as the global economy slows and inflation remains well below its two per cent target. Professor Steve Keen, head of the school of economics, history and politics at London’s Kingston University, [...]
Adventure capital: Investors pump £1bn into London’s tech sector in 2015 October 8, 2015 Investors have pumped a record £1bn into London’s thriving tech sector this year as the capital’s digital economy rockets, with experts predicting that the capital could soon be on course to challenge Silicon Valley. Data from London & Partners, the mayor’s investment company, shows that London’s technology companies have raked in three-quarters of the [...]
Former Euromoney Global Capital worker takes on singing odyssey October 7, 2015 There's a bit of a trend developing for breaking loose from finance to try to make it as an opera singer. First, former finance director at EY Michael Bracegirdle leapt on to the classical music scene when he played the role of villain Don Jose in a production of Carmen back in August. Now a former [...]
Investment Association could be less consumer friendly after departure of Daniel Godfrey October 7, 2015 Change at the top of leading body the Investment Association could mean bad news for consumers. Daniel Godfrey departed as head of the industry group late on Tuesday after Schroders and M&G threatened to pull their membership. His role came under fire as Invesco Perpetual, Aberdeen Asset Management and Fidelity Worldwide Investment were rumoured to [...]
Conservative conference 2015: Boris Johnson urges party to oppose Heathrow expansion October 7, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson piled extra pressure on the government yesterday, urging it to reject the Airports Commission’s recommendation to expand Heathrow, as Prime Minister David Cameron said he would give him a Cabinet post as soon as next year. In his speech to the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Johnson warned: “If we [...]
IMF: Emerging markets slowdown has pushed global economy to edge of recession October 7, 2015 The slowdown in emerging markets such as China and Brazil has pushed the world to the brink of recession, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday. The world is perilously close to entering a recession again this year and next, according to its latest forecasts. The fund has cut its forecast for global growth by [...]
National Living Wage: Lidl and Morrisons have boosted perception by adopting salary rises ahead of time October 7, 2015 From a reluctant starting point, British retailers are now falling over themselves to make the most of Living Wage goodwill, announcing wage rises ahead of next year's obligatory rise. Initially there was much gnashing of teeth over George Osborne's ruling that firms must pay staff above the £7.20 minimum for over-25s from April. Wetherspoon's founder [...]
FTSE 100 index ends up as commodities and energy rally – London Report October 7, 2015 Energy and mining stocks yesterday advanced on the back of stronger commodity prices as Britain’s top shares index extended gains from Monday’s session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which surged 2.8 per cent on Monday, ended 0.4 per cent higher at 6,326.16 points. The index, however, is still down about 3.5 per cent this year [...]
London’s economic growth in 2015 far outstrips the rest of the country, RBS figures show October 7, 2015 London's economy is outstripping the rest of the country, growing 3.3 per cent year on year, compared with a national average of 2.5 per cent, according to RBS’ regional growth figures out today. London’s economic growth was boosted by its burgeoning professional, scientific and technical services industries. The City and the West End, unsurprisingly, were [...]
Food prices drop ahead of supermarkets’ pre-Christmas battle – Nielsen and BRC October 7, 2015 Food prices fell back into deflation in September, industry figures released today show, as the supermarkets prepare to battle it out for customer’s wallets in the run-up to Christmas. Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s latest monthly index said food saw annual deflation for the first time in three months, falling sharply to [...]