Sentiment in the financial services sector deteriorated in the three months to September, as firms assimilated the challenges of lower interest rates and the uncertainty caused by the vote to leave the European Union, according to the latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey. The quarterly survey of 115 firms – the first since the Brexit vote…
New research from The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that UK small business confidence has continued to fall, dipping into negative territory for the first time since 2012. Business owners feeling confident are outnumbered by those that feel the opposite. However, FSB found many immediate economic conditions improving, with small firms reporting greater access…
In its first economic forecast since the EU referendum, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has downgraded its UK GDP growth forecast from 2.2% to 1.8% in 2016; from 2.3% to 1.0% in 2017 and from 2.4% to 1.8% in 2018. Weaker consumer spending and a large fall in investment were the main reasons for…
London has retained the top slot as a centre for business, commerce and culture in PwC’s latest Cities of Opportunity Index of 30 major global cities. Economic clout, reputation as a city gateway, ease of doing business, universities, innovation, entertainment and attractions are all reasons why London has retained its title for the second year…
The UK service sector returned to growth in August, according the Markit/CIPS UK Services Business Activity Index. Following abrupt contractions in output and new business in July, linked to the EU referendum, the latest data signalled a return to growth as companies reported that uncertainty had abated somewhat. The business activity index rebounded to 52.9…
August saw solid rebounds in UK manufacturing output and incoming new orders, according to the Markit/ CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Companies reported “solid inflows” of new work from both domestic and export customers, the latter aided by the sterling exchange rate. As a result, the PMI recovered sharply from the 41-month low of 48.3…