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Bank of England can only do so much on housing: Chief economist Haldane

Bloomberg Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said there are limits to how much the central bank can restrain the housing market and prevent a price spiral. “There are things we can do at the bank and others can do at the Treasury to damp down demand a bit,” Haldane said at an Open University event in London on ...

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Spain jobless claims fall more than forecast amid impasse

Bloomberg Jobless claims in Spain fell more than anticipated in March, even as the political impasse continues with lawmakers struggling to form a government following an inconclusive vote. New data on Monday showed the number of people registered as unemployed decreased by more than 58,200 people from February, adding to two months of falling unemployment. The decline was greater than ...

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Euro-area unemployment declines to lowest since 2011

Bloomberg Euro-area unemployment retreated in February to the lowest since 2011, continuing its slow decline as the economy grows at a modest pace. The rate fell to 10.3 percent from 10.4 percent in January, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat in Luxembourg said on Monday. That matched the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey, though the January number ...

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Airbus sees Brexit hurting its UK arm, backs pro-EU

Bloomberg Airbus Group SE, which relies on British facilities to design and build the wings for its commercial aircraft, told its 15,000 workers there that it “strongly” supports the U.K. remaining in the European Union and that an exit wouldn’t be helpful to its operations. “Our business model is entirely based on our ability to move products, people and ideas ...

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Wages are imperfect window into health of US labour market

Bloomberg The true strength of the American labour market may be disguised. Wage growth — described as slow and unconvincing by Federal Reserve officials plotting their path to higher interest rates — is more robust by some measures than commonly acknowledged due to changes in the composition of the workforce. With unemployment close to the lowest in eight years, accelerating ...

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Brazilian analysts forecast rate cut for 1st time since Nov

Bloomberg Brazil economists lowered their forecast for the benchmark Selic rate for the first time in four months as the currency appreciated further amid speculation President Dilma Rousseff will be ousted. Economists lowered their Selic forecast to 13.75 percent at year-end 2016, from 14.25 percent previously, and also its current level, according to the weekly Focus survey conducted April 1. ...

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Blackstone to buy HPE’s stake in Mphasis for $825 million

Bloomberg Hewlett Packard Enterprise will sell its majority stake in IT services firm Mphasis Ltd. for about $825 million to Blackstone Group LP, as the U.S. private equity firm expands in India while the computer maker exits tangential businesses. The investment firm will buy at least 84 percent of HPE’s stake for 430 rupees per share, the U.S. company said ...

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IMF says LatAm bank retreat raises integration need

Bloomberg Global banks’ withdrawal from Latin America since the global financial crisis could undermine domestic banking systems just as the region requires substantial funding to ignite economic growth, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund. Brazil’s Banco Bradesco SA in July announced the $5.2 billion purchase of HSBC Holdings Plc’s local retail unit, raising concern in the local ...

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Ailing e-com site Groupon gets $250mn investment

AFP Groupon, the daily deals ecommerce operator which has been struggling since a hot public share offering, said it received a $250 million investment from a private investment fund. Groupon said it would use the cash infusion from Atairos to boost share repurchases and to revive growth. “Our partnership with Atairos will help accelerate our transformation while better positioning us ...

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USA stocks dip as Virgin America surges on takeover

AFP Wall Street stocks opened modestly lower on Monday as Virgin America surged more than 40 percent on news it agreed to be acquired by Alaska Airlines in a $4 billion deal. Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17.771.20, down 21.55 points (0.12 percent). The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.76 (0.13 percent) to 2,070.02, while ...

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