Reuters Insider - Reuters Today: UK rate hike less urgent - BoE's Weale

IBEX Technologies

21/12/2015 10:27

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 Source:             Thomson Reuters                                   
                                                                       
 Description:        A UK interest rate hike is now 'slightly less     
                     immediate' due to slow pay growth and falling oil 
                     prices, says Bank of England policymaker Martin   
                     Weale in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.   
 
 
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Transcript (May be auto-generated)

                 Good morning and welcome to Reuters Today. I'm Angeline Ong. Slow pay growth and
a slump in oil prices make a UK rate hike less urgent. That's the verdict from 
Martin Weale. He is one of the Bank of England policymakers seen as most likely 
to call for higher borrowing costs. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, 
Weale said the factors pushing down on inflation had become a bit more 
prolonged, meaning the Bank now had a bit more wiggle room when it came to 
rates. Meanwhile, UK employers have warned about the cost risks from the higher 
minimum wage and a new tax to fund apprenticeships. The Confederation of British
Industry says the government must be careful not to sacrifice prosperity for 
political expediency by saddling businesses with costs that could harm 
investment. Just over half the services firms that took part in a CBI survey 
said they would hike prices. 27% said they would hire less workers after the 
higher minimum wage is introduced in April. Let's turn now to the markets to see
how we stand in early trade. 

The FTSE 100 is up around 1% as we speak, while the FTSEurofirst 300 is up 
two-thirds of 1%, weighed down by a fragmented election result in Spain. That's 
where the ruling party failed to gain a majority in the general election. 
Support for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's governing Partido Popular slumped 
because of voter upset at austerity, high unemployment, and corruption. Neither 
Rajoy's conservatives nor left-wing parties won a clear mandate to govern. Talks
to form a coalition government could to take weeks. 

Spain's IBEX falling about 3%. Let's take a look at the individual movers for 
you. Hammerson shares up after the UK property firm said it had exchanged 
contracts for the sale of two assets for a total of GBP87 million. Shares there 
up 1%. Plus the FT says HSBC has appointed Rothschild for restructuring its 
private banking arm. Shares in HSBC rising around 1% today. That's it for now. 
I'm Angeline Ong, and this is Reuters