Economic News

This is Money14 June 2006 THE number of people out of work increased by more than 70,000 in three months to reach the highest level since September 2002, official figures showed today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? DATA: Economic indicators POLL: Are we heading for a recession? OTHER STORIES Google set to challenge eBay AB Ports goes abroad for £2.5bn Market report: Wednesday 09.30 First- ...

LONDON (Reuters) - London would continue to flourish as a global financial centre whether or not Britain ever joined the euro zone, Treasury minister Ed Balls said on Wednesday. In his first major speech as economics secretary, Balls said that the government had twice concluded, in 1997 and then in 2003, that staying out of the single currency would not have any harmful impact on financial services. "Three years on, that assessment is sound. As expected, monetary union has driven growth and th ...

| Investors braced for further turbulenceBy Chris FloodPublished: June 14 2006 09:52 | Last updated: June 14 2006 09:52Investors were braced for further turbulence in global financial markets on Wednesday ahead of the release of the latest US consumer price inflation figures, the key economic data of the week. // The inflation data is seen as key to the short-term outlook for US interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting at the end of June. Equity markets tumbled across the g ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Blue chip stocks are expected to continue their descent on Wednesday, mirroring losses on Wall Street where economic data continued to fuel worries about inflation and interest rates. A trading statement from supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will be the main corporate focus, while telecoms group Cable & Wireless (CW.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is likely to slip as its shares trade ex-dividend. The FTSE 100 index is seen down 5-16 points in early ...

By Lesley Wroughton - Analysis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Reinventing the International Monetary Fund may have come just in time as world markets recoil amid rising inflation and interest rates, which look set to test new IMF powers to police the global economy. On a visit on Tuesday to Australia, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato warned that risks to the global economy had clearly increased, seen in falling equity markets, commodity prices and accompanying tightening of easy money. Some economi ...

Turkey’s central bank was forced to intervene in the foreign exchange markets on Tuesday to prop up the value of the lira as investors continued to sell Turkish stocks and bonds in a wider retreat from emerging markets. // The bank lifted its benchmark interest rate by 175 basis points last week in a dramatic move, but it has so far failed to halt a near two-month slide in the lira. Analysts sai ...

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, has consolidated his lead in the race to elections in October and support for his government has reached record levels, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday. // The poll confirms the results of other recent polls showing that if elections were held now Mr Lula da Silva would win an outright majority without the need for a second-round run-off. A second round is widely regarded as the only hope for Geraldo Alckmin, confirmed at the wee ...

Treasury prices closed higher Tuesday, sending yields lower, after declines in equities around the world sent investors into the safety of bonds. A government report showing a higher than expected core inflation rate at the wholesale level had a limited impact on the market as traders looked ahead to consumer-price data due Wednesday that's expected to give a clearer clue as to what the Federal ...

Fund managers are shifting assets into cash because of the turmoil in global financial markets, according to the latest Merrill Lynch monthly survey. // The percentage of fund managers’ assets held as cash jumped from an average 4.1 per cent in early May to 4.5 per cent a month later. A net 29 per cent of managers said they were “overweight” cash – one the highest readings recorded – compared wi ...

By Matthew Robinson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell more than 2.5 percent to below $69 a barrel Tuesday as risk-averse investors fled from commodity markets, spooked by fears that interest rates would rise to combat inflation. Prices of industrial and precious metals also fell sharply and equity markets dropped. A flow of money from investment funds has helped send oil and some other commodities t ...