Economic News

Hugo Duncan, Evening Standard5 December 2007, 1:30pm Reader comments (6) | Vote | Guide | Table The pound tumbled against the US dollar today as traders gambled on a cut in interest rates during a dramatic session in the City. WANT TO KNOW MORE? Halifax on house prices: Longest fall in 12 years Consumer confidence plummets Regulator warns on mortgages Interest rates: News, predictio ...

(Recasts, adds analyst comment) PRAGUE (Thomson Financial) - The Czech Republic showed a foreign trade surplus of 8.6 bln crowns in October, about 5 bln crowns more than last year, and beating market expectation of 6.3 bln crowns, data showed. Analysts say the balance is expected to reach record levels this year; however, the firm crown and the expected slowdown in growth of the eurozone may put ...

(Updating with comments from leading economist) ATHENS (Thomson Financial) - Greek consumer price inflation (CPI) for November is expected to rise above 3.5 pct year-on-year on higher food prices, up from the 3.1 pct pace set in October, said Ioannis Moschakis, the head of the retail prices and inflation department at the National Statistical Service. Moschakis told Thomson Financial News exclus ...

(Adds quotes) LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The UK government will "insist" on the repayment of public cash used to prop up troubled lender Northern Rock PLC as part of any settlement with a private buyer, said Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The European Commission today said it has approved rescue aid given by the UK government to Northern Rock PLC under EU rules, but warned any future r ...

Evening Standard5 December 2007, 10:16am Britain's key service sector continued to falter last month as business crashed to its weakest level for more than four years. WANT TO KNOW MORE? Interest rates: News, advice and predictions Bank's knife-edge call in rates dilemma OTHER STORIES House prices see third month of falls Bank's knife-edge call in rates dilemma Market report:  ...

Press Association5 December 2007, 8:08am Vote | Calculate Consumer confidence fell by a record level in November as the gloomy economic news of the past few months took its toll, research showed today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? Alex Brummer: 'Rates must be cut - now!' Find shelter from the global money storm Shop online for a cheaper Christmas POLL: Are you trying to spend significantly less t ...

Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard5 December 2007 Vote | Guide | Calculate House prices have fallen for the third month in a row sparking fresh concerns about the state of the property market, Britain's biggest mortgage lender said today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? Watchdog warns on mortgages House prices to 'drop 10% in a year' Your guide to clearing the mortgage How to beat mortgage rate shoc ...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The pound fell as a key survey showed UK house prices slumped in November, providing further evidence that the housing market is slowing and adding to the chances that the Bank of England will cut interest rates tomorrow. Halifax's latest survey showed house prices fell by a massive 1.1 pct in November from October, the biggest fall in a nearly a year and marking the  ...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian household spending propelled the nation's economic growth in the third quarter, resulting in gross domestic product growth being the highest for 3 years at 4.3 percent year-on-year, economists said Wednesday. Quarter-on-quarter GDP grew at 1.0 percent, up from 0.7 percent in the second quarter, according to national accounts data released by the Australian  ...

WARSAW (Thomson Financial) - Poland's central bank will need to raise interest rates two or three more times by 25 basis points by the middle of 2008 in order to fight rising inflation, daily Gazeta Prawna quoted a member of its monetary policy council as saying. Marian Noga, seen as a strong supporter of higher rates on the bank's 10-strong council, said the bank should stick to raising rates in ...