Investors still expect the US economy to achieve a “soft landing” through low inflation, low interest rates and low unemployment, despite the worst period of global stock market turbulence in two years. More than three quarters of fund managers surveyed by Bank of America said they did not think that the world’s largest economy would…
The City regulator is to go ahead with the biggest shake-up of listing rules in three decades in an attempt to help London equity markets attract and retain more companies. The Financial Conduct Authority said loosening rules that govern the rights and information given to shareholders when companies float on the stock market would align…
Accesso Technology Group suffered one of its roughest rides ever as a listed company after it warned that its full-year performance would be markedly lower than previously thought. The Aim-listed company, which makes virtual queuing and ticketing software used at venues from theme parks to zoos and museums, reported disappointing trading in its end markets…
An unexpected setback for the American economy, with hiring falling sharply and the unemployment rate rising for a fourth straight month, sparked a sharp sell-off on global stock markets yesterday. The weak data and the US Federal Reserve’s decision this week to hold interest rates at the present 23-year high of 5.25 per cent to…
An electricity superhighway for transferring renewable energy between Scotland and England has been approved. Most of the 310 miles of cabling will be laid under the North Sea and will run from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Bridlington on the East Yorkshire coast. A further underground section will connect inland to Drax, the vast power generator…
Investors pulled a record amount of cash out of China in the second quarter of this year amid concerns about the health of the world’s second-largest economy, official data showed. In the three months to June, outflows of investor capital from China reached $15 billion, according to balance of payments figures published by the State…
The average grandparent providing childcare for a son or daughter spends £50 a week of their own money and gives up hours of their time. Many will say it is a pleasure, but should they still be rewarded financially? We seek opposing views Mark Screeton, the chief executive of the insurer SunLifeMore than one in…
Wages growth slipped to a two-year low and the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in the second quarter of the year, providing mixed signals about the state of the labour market. A measure of weekly earnings growth excluding bonuses fell from 5.8 per cent to 5.4 per cent in the three months to the end of…
Not for the first time, town hall pension funds are under the spotlight. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was enthusing last week about how these archaic, opaque savings institutions could learn much from their larger and more professionalised Canadian counterparts. Only a few weeks ago it was the Australians being hailed as the pension scheme operators…
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment group has placed new bets on Ulta Beauty, the cosmetics store chain, and Heico, an aircraft parts maker, after dumping stock worth billions of dollars in heavyweight Wall Street listings. Berkshire, which has sold hundreds of billions of dollars of stocks in recent months, has built a stake in Ulta…
Inflation in the United States fell to a three-year low in July, raising expectations of an interest rate cut in the world’s largest economy next month. Official figures showed a drop in headline annual consumer price inflation from 3 per cent to 2.9 per cent, compared with the same month last year. It was the…
After decrying the dire economic inheritance left by the last government, Labour is celebrating an economy that is closing in on one of the government’s most ambitious targets: recording the fastest growth in the G7. The latest official growth figures show that the UK expanded by a healthy 0.6 per cent in the second quarter…
Tune into the news and you might reasonably believe that parts of Britain are in the grip of a crime and disorder epidemic. Our nation’s youth seem to believe a moral compass is something you can steal from Lush. But how pure are your own ethics? Have you ever stolen a pen from your office?…
Focusing on the headline inflation figure could lead some to conclude that interest rates will not fall further this year. Consumer price index inflation rose for the first time this year, to 2.2 per cent in July from 2 per cent, back above the Bank of England’s target. However, looking more closely at the Office…
The gambling group behind William Hill reported a first-half loss of £143 million as it paid the price for the debt-fuelled £2 billion takeover of the British bookmaker. The reported post-tax loss from Evoke reflects a slump in its underlying earnings plus the impact of accounting charges and finance costs relating to the largely debt-funded…