Tag Archives: economic news

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary 4th February 2014

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The key macro-economic, personal finance, property and recruitment stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth Account Manager Hugh Murphy

News Headlines – Friday 24th January 2014

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Economics

Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney has ruled out an early increase in borrowing costs, vowing that this week’s faster than expected fall in unemployment will not lead to an automatic interest rate rise that might harm the recovery. Softening his flagship forward guidance policy of linking an interest rate rise to a fall in unemployment rate to 7%, Carney denied that it has caused a headache for the Bank – saying that  “if our forecast is going to be wrong, it’s better for it to be wrong in that direction”. He has also announced that when the Bank does decide to raise interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis, that changes will be gradual. Some City analysts are now expecting Carney to announce that he will lower the threshold at which the Bank would consider raising interest rates to an unemployment level of 6.5%, although the Governor has said that the Bank’s monetary committee will consider all aspects of the labour market and not just the unemployment rate (Telegraph Business p.1, Guardian FP, FT FP, Independent p.4)

 

Personal Finance

Launching a major counter-offensive against Labour’s accusations of a cost-of-living crisis, Department for Business Minister Matthew Hancock writes in the Times today that there is “stark” evidence that after-tax pay grew by more than prices for all but the best-paid 10%.  The Conservatives insist that the recovery is reaching ordinary families and that standards of living are on the rise, as the latest ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings showed that working families’ pay rose a third faster than inflation in the year to April 2013.  The data also shows that growth in take-home pay is strongest in the North and Midlands, and weakest in London and the South, rivalling Labour’s assertions that economic growth is unevenly spread and enhancing the north-south divide (Times FP and leading article, Telegraph FP, Mail p.2).

 

Property

The number of first-time buyers stepping onto the property ladder has surged to its highest level since 2007, as “schemes like Help to Buy provide vital support” according to LSL property Services. The volume of first-time buyer deals in December 2013 was up 30% from a year previously. But while the average deposit for a first-time buyer has fallen by 3.6% since December 2012, their mortgages are getting bigger – jumping by 11.4% in a year (Times p.44).

 

Recruitment

At the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Cameron will claim that fast-recovering Britain offers an opportunity to win back jobs lost overseas, saying “there is a chance for Britain to become the Re-shore Nation”. He will announce that the Coalition’s low business taxes plus the prospect of cheap energy from shale gas are set to decisively reverse the off-shoring trend. He will report that many firms are already looking to relocate call centres as well as high-skilled manufacturing and technology plants back to the UK after years of outsourcing production and services to India and the Far East. 1,500 manufacturing jobs have already been brought back to the UK since 2011, with companies such as food manufacturer Symington’s, model train firm Hornby, and fashion brand Jaeger relocating back to Britain.  More than 1 in 10 SMEs have brought back production to Britain in the past year, more than double the proportion sending it in the opposite direction overseas (FT p.4, Express p.4, Mail p.2).

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 24th December 2013

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The key macro-economic, personal finance, recruitment and property stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth Account Executive Rachel Morrod.

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 23rd December 2013

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The key macro-economic, personal finance, property and recruitment stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth Account Executive Sinead Meckin.

Paper Summary: 18th December 2013

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Property
A new record 400,000 property owners are now property millionaires, that’s translates as twice as many as five years ago according to Zoopla. The number of homes worth £1 million or more has increased by a third over the past twelve months, thanks to soaring house prices in London and South East. The lack of supply of new homes in the capital was to a great extent responsible for driving forward a further 57,120 over the £1 million mark which equates to 156 new property millionaires a day in the capital throughout 2013, as shown by Zoopla. Prices are still rising according to the latest ONS figures, by 5.5% in the past 12 months, and the rise is even higher in London, jumping by 12%. Marsh & Parsons highlighted that prices are at more than double the rate of other areas , while Prime London continues to be a honeypot for UK and overseas buyers, as demand remains intense. As a result, LSL highlights that first time buyers are still having to leap higher than ever before to join the property ladder.

Personal Finance
Over half of UK shoppers are heading to discount shops, visiting an Aldi or Lidl figures revealed, for the first time ever. More than 13 million used the budget stores in the past three month, up from 46.1% a year ago. As a result all of the big four grocers have lost market share, as the so-called budget shops now make up a combined seven per cent of the total market. Credit crunch bargains are proving attractive across the country, as value continues to be a great incentive. Although Lidl and Aldi may not be as prevalent in London, more common in regions where shoppers can drive to do a food shop, this is likely to change, as more shops are expected to open next year. The type of customers are also said to be changing – those known as ABC1s (the traditional middle classes) make up just 25% of shoppers in 2011. Last year that rose to 41%, proving that Aldi is no longer the store of the cash strapped student.

Economy
Britons believe that securing growth as their top economic priority is more significant than higher wages according to a survey for the Independent. The ComRes survey findings suggest that the Conservatives message on the economy may resonate more than Labour’s campaign on reducing the cost of living. Their competing messages will lead to a fierce battle in the run up to the 2015 election. It’s interesting to note that in a list of important priorities over the next five years from a range of options, at the top was ensuring the economy continues to grow, followed by ensuring wages increase faster than prices, thirdly keeping inflation down and finally reducing the deficit. Now that the economy is growing the Tories will take comfort in the fact that that the findings show people view growth as the top factor.

Recruitment
More than half of the UK is said to be ripe for fracking according to a new Government report by engineering giant Amec, that shows a shale gas boom could create up to 32,000 new jobs. These plans have been met with mixed responses with some arguing it will cast a dark shadow over many communities in Britain who could now face the threat of fracking in their backyard. A new licensing round to enable firms to search for shale gas will begin in the summer. There could be between 14 and 51 vehicle movements to a fracking site each day over a 32 to 145-week period which could have a serious impact on traffic congestion, noise or air quality, depending on existing roads, traffic and air quality.