Philip
Hammond will present his first budget statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer
on 23 November, setting out how the government will use tax and spending plans
to shore up the UK economy after the vote to leave the EU. Appearing before a
House of Lords committee, Hammond hinted that he would use the autumn statement
to create room for the government to step in to support the economy as
households and businesses absorb the shock of the referendum result. The
statement will be accompanied by the latest forecasts for the economy and
public finances from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Economists
expect the OBR’s outlook for growth to be significantly lower than at the time
of the March budget.
The UK
trade deficit shrank from £5.6bn in June to £4.5bn in July, according to the
Office for National Statistics (ONS). The narrowed gap reflects a 2% increase
in exports of goods and services, with imports falling by 0.5% to £48.3bn. The
value of the pound fell sharply in the wake of the Brexit vote, which should
make British products cheaper abroad, however the ONS said that it was too
early to make firm conclusions.
Read
more: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/bulletins/uktrade/july2016
According
to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 903,000 of the employed workforce
are on zero-hour contracts, up from 747,000 in 2015, suggesting that insecure
employment is becoming a bigger feature in the jobs market. In response, TUC
general secretary Frances O’Grady said that the government needed to provide
workers ‘living at the sharp end of the labour market’ with extra support.
Shareholders
in Sports Direct have notified founder Mike Ashley and chairman Keith Hellawell
that they want a full independent review of working practices and governance
after City investors voted for Hellawell’s removal. At a summit on Wednesday,
the Investor Forum, which represents the company’s institutional shareholders,
told the board that a further review being carried out by a law firm linked to the
company would not be enough.
Lifelong
learning is becoming more and more important in a world where the work force is
on of ‘rapid knowledge obsolescence’, according to futurist and speaker Jim
Carroll. He suggests that we need to ‘continue to reinvent ourselves, by
updating our skills in order to maintain our relevance’ throughout our working
lives. He says that it is not only employees that need to adapt, but also
universities, colleges and employers in order to stay competitive and compete
in the fast-paced world of modern business. The key, he suggests, is to
emphasize certain skill sets as opposed to degrees.
In July,
German seasonally adjusted exports fell sharply in July by 2.6% compared with the
previous month, posting their steepest drop since August 2015, after the
country’s goods saw lower global demand. Industrial orders barely rose in July
and output fell sharply, with demand for goods dropping the most from countries
outside the EU. Despite the slowdown, the country still posted a €19.4bn
In yet
more news from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), recent data on
construction covering the period after the Brexit vote shows zero output growth
from the sector in July. However, this was better than the 0.8 contraction predicted
by City of London analysts and broke a two month run of declining output. The
ONS had estimated that construction, which accounts for around 6% of the UK
economy, contracted in the first two quarters of 2016, dragging on overall GDP
growth, although new revisions now suggest output grew in the first quarter.
The European
Central Bank (ECB) has left interest rates in the Eurozone unchanged. However,
they have not ruled out more cuts in the coming months and have renewed calls
for politicians to do more to support the economic bloc’s recovery.
In Other News:
- Wetherspoons founder launches scathing attack on EU as pub chain announces record profits - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-wetherspoons-tim-martin-uk-eu-trade-deal-a7233481.html
- Former Tesco directors charged with fraud over accounting scandal - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/09/sfo-charges-former-tesco-directors-with-fraud
- UK expectations for rate hikes lowest on record - http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-inflation-idUKKCN11F0YZ
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