The UK Economy

Analysts expect the UK government to announce the country’s economy contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. Research by the National Institute of Economic Research and Social Research (NIESR) indicates that the 1.0% growth seen in the third was artificial leading to contraction at the end of 2012. The figures raise further concern […]

BBC reported today that Royal Bank of Scotland plc (LSE:RBS) (NYSE:RBS) is now in the final stage of negotiations as to how much fine it will pay over its alleged participation in the London Inter-Bank Offer Rates or LIBOR, which may also claim one executive’s seat at the bank. According to Robert Peston, BBC’s Business […]

The UK’s Office for National Statistics, ONS, has announced that it will not change the method by which the Retail Price Index, RPI, is calculated. Following a three month consultation the ONS has chosen to not change the RPI to be more in line with the consumer prices index, but said that an additional price […]

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted against further quantitative easing and to maintain an interest rate of 0.5%, which has been in place since March 2009. Known officially as the Bank Rate, interest is applicable to commercial bank reserves and has never been lower than 0.5% in the Bank’s 319-year history. Business […]

Camera store chain Jessops is appointing an administrator as it is effectively bust. What caused this privately owned firm to go under and who is next? As it happens I bought a camera from Jessops just before Christmas and as I did so I wondered why on earth this store existed in the first place. […]

Mining firm Anglo American names replacement for former chief executive Cynthia Carroll. The multinational mining giant and the world’s largest supplier of platinum Anglo American has named Mark Cutifani as their new Chief Executive. Once a trainee-miner Mr Cutifani, 54, resigned from his position as chief executive of the South African firm AngloGold to take […]

The UK’s service sector has contracted for the first time since December 2010. Research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, CIPS, and financial information supplier Markit concludes that the UK’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, figure fell from 50.2 in November to 48.9 in December in 2012. Any figure under 50.0 signifies negative […]

The Chinese service sector has grown at its fastest rate for four months indicating that the country is set for a period of sustained economic recovery. Newly released results for China’s National Bureau of Statistics shown that non-manufacturing purchasing manager’s index, known as PMI, increased to 56.1 in December from November’s 55.6, with any figure […]

From our Washington Correspondent: Following a series of protracted negotiations the US government reached an agreement to prevent the implementation of a series of tax rises and spending cuts, known as the “fiscal cliff”. Global markets responded positively to the news with the FTSE100 passing 6000 for the first time since July 2011 and Hong […]

– Breaking News – Following the apparent resolution of the US Fiscal Cliff saga, the FTSE is back above 6000 for the first time since the summer slump kicked off in July 2011. The breakthrough is not solely down to the Fiscal Cliff agreement, as 2012 saw a global rally in equities whilst central banks […]