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Yesterday's better than expected rise in UK Q3 GDP by 1% had some of the gloss taken off it by the news that US car giant Ford would be closing two UK production plants with the loss of 1,400 jobs, as the company sought to stem the losses from its European operations.
After last week’s melodrama surrounding Spanish and French austerity budgets, and the Spanish banking stress tests that appear rather optimistic with...
Yesterday's much anticipated Spanish budget saw Spanish leaders announce that they would be looking to cut spending by €40bn in 2013. The budget also aimed to implement a whole host of reforms, including a budgetary oversight committee to oversee government spending.
After the events of the last 24 hours, where Spanish police fired rubber bullets and used batons on austerity protestors...
Yesterday’s speech by ECB President Draghi that the ECB could provide the “bridge towards a more stable future” if politicians were brave enough to walk over it, must be ringing a little hollow this morning
Yesterday’s improvement in the UK unemployment numbers appears to raise more questions than answers with respect to the UK economy. How can it be that unemployment is falling while the economy is in the grip of three successive quarters of economic contraction, and it is this apparent contradiction that is causing a lot of debate?
This morning’s Chinese trade data, following on from yesterday’s disappointing industrial production and retail sales data showed a sharp drop in both imports and exports, and pretty much confirmed the prognosis that the global economy, as well as the domestic economy, has not only got a chill, but could well be heading towards full blown pneumonia.
If yesterday’s UK economic data told us anything it is that the road to recovery is likely to be a long and arduous one.
Yesterday saw the Spanish IBEX hit its lowest level in nine years as fears of a run on Spanish banks saw Bankia shares slide sharply along with the rest of the European banking sector. Last night's decision by ratings agency Moody's to downgrade sixteen Spanish banks by 1-2 notches with a negative outlook, including Santander UK, isn't likely to engender further confidence.
Last night’s FOMC minutes haven’t really provided any clearer indication of whether the Fed stands ready to react at its June meeting when “operation twist” is due to roll-off.