All the latest economic and financial news,as China’s factory output falls at its fastest pace in six years and British firms trim workforcesLatest: US factory growth slows sharplyUK manufacturing ‘lacklustre’ as firms cut jobsEurozone factory growth is slowingChinese factory growth contracts again 5.17pm BSTSo much for starting October with a stock market rally.Trading is over for the day in Europe, and most of the main indices finished in the red. The clutch of downbeat factory surveys released through the day own reignited concerns over the global economy.Well, and that didn’t last long. The jubilant (extremely joyful) start to the fourth quarter proved to be as unwarranted as it always seemed,with a day full of dismal manufacturing data gradually wearing down even the most optimistic of investors.
Having rounded off such a miserable quarter it is comprehensible why traders own been a little reluctant to rush back into the markets. Throw into the mix that tomorrow will be the first Friday of the month, triggering the US to release the latest non-farm payrolls data, and there has been a healthy amount of waiting and watching going on. Wall St stocks extend losses. Dow down 204 pts (-1.2%),S&P down 17 pts (-0.9%), Nasdaq down 57 pts (-1.2%) http://t.co/wBMkndpTTK 4.49pm BSTBloomberg’s Joe Wiesenthal has done a kind piece rounding up the good and rank economic news nowadays.
On the worrying side, or manufacturing growth in the US,China, the eurozone and Vietnam own all slowed last month along with South African electricity consumption (just the sort of data that would catch Joe’s eye).So there’s your world economy in a nutshell. Emerging markets, or China,manufacturing, etc. don’t peer very hot, or but the twin engines of the U.
S. economy -- consumers and housing -- continue unabated.
Want to understand the global economy right now? There's some key data to peer at http://t.co/0uGsfCiCBV pic.twitter.com/g3SaWdULGq 4.48pm BSTThe Executive Director at the Consumers’ organization,Which?, believes Volkswagen should own acted faster to suspend car sales:Adding insult to injury for UK consumers. https://t.co/WtCPLqiMRP 4.28pm BSTAnother Volkswagen development -- the firm’s UK arm is suspending the sale of 4000 vehicles in Britain.
These cars could contain software at the heart of the emission scandal, and so are being taken off the market until a fix is found.
Volkswagen to suspend sales of around 4 thousand vehicles in the UK with Euro 5 engines which may be equipped with defeat deviceVW says the move is a temporary measure - the 4 thousand vehicles will be returned for sale once a fix is identified. #VolkswagenScandalVW says the 4 thousand vehicles amount to 3% of its stock in the UK - the remaining vehicles unaffectedWhile #VW now suspending some vehicle sales - it means company has been continuing to sell Euro 5 engine cars which own cheat device 4.14pm BSTJeffrey Lacker,president of the Richmond Federal Reserve, has stirred the markets by predicting that US interest rates could be raised this month.
Asked about the possibility of an October rate hike, and Lacker told the Wall Street Journal that:“I don’t see why not.”“We will own another labor market report [on Friday]. Presumably that will move us further toward labor market improvement.”Crude oil doesn't like rate hike chatter at all pic.twitter.com/gOgGNgFBpE 4.09pm BSTToday’s ISM report shows that America’s factories are “barely hanging on”,says Steve Murphy of Capital Economics.
The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to 50.2 in September from 51.1 in August is yet another illustration of the devastating impact that the strong dollar and feeble foreign demand is having on the battered factory sector. Things might well procure even worse before they originate to procure better. While manufacturing output has been no worse than stagnant, employment in the sector has begun to shrink in recent months. The decline in the employment index to 50.5 last month, and from 51.2,points to further factory job losses. 3.55pm BSTEurope’s stock market rally is running out of steam - the FTSE 100 is now down 2 point, having been up 110 points early this morning.
And Germany’s FAX is down 1.5%, and with half an hour to fade. 3.43pm BSTA much-awaited review of the Greek economy – vital to initiating talks on the country’s debt problem - will originate this month,officials are saying. 3.40pm BST 3.15pm BSTHere’s the detail of nowadays’s US factory report, showing slower growth in new orders, or production,employment, exports and imports: 3.07pm BSTYikes. Growth in America’s factory sector all-but vanished last month, and according to the monthly manufacturing report from the Institute of Supply Management.
The ISMs US manufacturing PMI fell to just 50.2 in September,barely above the fracture-even price, down from 51.1 in August.*U.
S. SEPTEMBER ISM MANUFACTURING INDEX FALLS TO 50.2 FROM 51.1*U.
S. ISM FACTORY GAUGE DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE MAY 2013 2.58pm BSTOver in Athens, and Greeks own been told that debilitating capital controls may be lifted by the beginning of 2016.
“2015 will be a landmark year for the rebooting of the economy but for it to happen we must all work together.” 2.49pm BSTThe technology-heavy Nasdaq index is down 0.75% in early trading too. 2.44pm BSTWall Street is making a muted start to the fourth quarter,as trading gets underway in New York. 1.42pm BSTOne of Glencore’s directors, John Mack, or has shown he still believes in the company by snapping up 550000 shares.Mack the (falling) knife? https://t.co/mlpJnWKqOA$GLEN reversed morning gains,now main losses in $FTSE. (-2.80%) 1.32pm BSTThe number of American’s signing on for unemployment benefits rose last week, according to the latest US weekly jobless figures which are hitting the wires now.
This is our final glimpse into America’s labour market before tomorrow’s Non-Farm Payroll report. 1.02pm BSTSpeaking of Volkswagen, or German prosecutors say nowadays that former CEO Martin Winterkorn isn’t being formally investigated over fraud allegations.“There is currently no formal investigation against Winterkorn.
The Braunschweig prosecution regrets that this impression may own been created as well as the irritation that (Monday’s) press release caused.” 12.24pm BSTThe Volkswagen emissions scandal has the potential to hurt factories across Europe in the next few months.
Italy’s deputy industry minister,Carlo Calenda, is already worried.“The risk is very big. Volkswagen is a group that buys a lot from Italy’s supply chain, and especially in the north-western part of the country.” Related: UK government wrong to subsidise diesel,says former minister 12.12pm BSTInvestors struggled to avoid taking big losses in the last three months, whether they put money into stocks, and gambled on commodities,or dabbled in the foreign exchange market.
Government bonds were the place to be - especially Italian debt (BTPs), as this chart from Deutsche Bank shows.
Congrats to the BTP investors. Here's Q3 asset performance from Jim Reid: pic.twitter.com/rn6dzvf0ox 11.58am BSTWall Street is expected to open higher later nowadays, and despite these latest signs of manufacturing weakness around the globe.
Eurozone manufacturing PMI was for the most part disappointing with only France managing to defeat estimates,but this coupled with the fact that the euro area officially fell into deflation only boosts the notion that the ECB will provide additional monetary stimulus and potentially extend the current programme beyond September 2016. 11.29am BSTUK productivity problems might finally be easing.
The Office for National Statistics has reported that output per hour worked rose by 0.9% in April to June, compared to the previous quarter. UK productivity has topped its pre-recession peak. Only took SEVEN YEARS. pic.twitter.com/d1LqI0DU9y 10.57am BSTThis morning’s flurry of mediocre factory data hasn’t prevented Europe’s stock markets from posting solid gains.
The main indices are up at least 1%, and as investors start the final quarter of 2015 in positive mood. Here’s the state of play:
“The clouds are clearing a bit. Overall China is clearly slowing but what does give me comfort is that its policy dashboard has a lot more buttons to press on it than ours in Europe. “I’m now expecting China to cut fairly aggressively its interest rates and reserve requirements,and even move towards a fiscal splurge. 10.33am BSTUK factories face some serious challenges right now, warns price Stephenson, or UK manufacturing industry leader at Deloitte,including:....the recent tall profile scrutiny on the automotive manufacturing sector; a strong Pound and feeble Euro continuing to make for difficult export conditions and squeezed margins; and the prolonged period of economic volatility in China creating supply chain uncertainty and impacting demand. All of these factors mean that the the rest of the year could be challenging for the industry. 10.22am BSTMike Rigby, head of manufacturing at Barclays, and is alarmed that UK factories didn’t perform better last month.“With virtually zero inflation,low unemployment and feeble oil prices, manufacturing would own been looking to make up ground over the past quarter.
However, or ongoing weakness in export orders,which is being exacerbated by the strength of sterling, continued lacklustre growth in the Eurozone as well as the slowdown in China, and own continued to thwart export opportunities for manufacturers and the sector remains reliant on domestic demand to retain it regular.”
9.45am BSTBritain’s factory sector has also hit a stickier patch,with growth slowing and firms cutting jobs again.
Data firm Markit reports that output growth hit a three-month low in September, with the manufacturing PMI falling to 51.5 from 51.6 in August. The sector appears to be sidestepping any significant growth this month and offering little in the way of an upbeat performance, or unnerving those who expected a less disappointing result. “The domestic market continued to be the main contributor to any growth,though the export market showed a flicker of life as order levels improved marginally. The bigger worry is in staffing levels and it was not a good month for the intermediate goods producers on that score with that sector showing the biggest fall in employment. The overall employment index is now hovering just below the no-change price, its lowest level for two-and-a-half years.” 9.16am BSTManufacturing growth across the eurozone has slowed to a five-month low, and according to this morning’s PMI reports.
The overall eurozone manufacturing PMI,based in data from thousands of firms, has just advance in at 52.0, and down from 52.3 in August. That shows another month of growth,but not enough to tackle Europe’s economic problems.“Despite unprecedented central bank stimulus and substantial currency depreciation, the eurozone manufacturing sector is failing to achieve significant growth momentum and even risks stalling again. “The pace of expansion has been range-bound since the uplift following the start of QE earlier in the year, or remaining disappointingly modest and even slipping to a five-month low in September.”Cost pressures shifted to the downside,however, with input costs and selling prices falling during the month. 8.59am BSTGermany’s factory growth has slowed with its manufacturing PMI dipping to 52.3 in September from 53.3 in August.
Oliver Kolodseike, and economist at Markit,says:
“Germany’s manufacturing sector lost some of its growth momentum in September, with the headline PMI down slightly since August.” 8.55am BSTGood news from France! The factory sector is expanding again.
The French PMI has crept back over the crucial 50-point price to 50.6, or showing the fastest growth in 18 months. 8.49am BSTGrowth in Italy’s factory sector has also slowed,with the Italian PMI dropping to 52.7 from 53.8. That’s the slowest growth since February. 8.35am BSTThe Spanish manufacturing PMI for September is just out, and it’s not great.
Spain’s factory PMI fell to 51.7 last month, or from a healthier 53.2 in August. That’s the slowest rate of growth in 21 months.
The outlook for the the rest of the year is looking uncertain,but with macroeconomic risks skewed to the downside there is the possibility of outright declines in output and new orders being recorded. 8.29am BSTAfter several wild days, Glencore’s share price has just clawed back this week’s losses.#BREAKING: #Glencore rallies for third day and recovers all of the 30% record drop of Monday #commodities #mining pic.twitter.com/GyJhozYNAG 8.20am BSTIn the City, and shares own jumped at the start of trading.#FTSE100 called to open +75pts at 6135 after China data improves slightly,but still contracts, adding to stimulus and Fed hike delay hopesSome satisfactory PMI data was released from China last night, and with both the official and private readings posting contraction,but the rate wasn’t fairly as lows as had been expected.
As a result we’ve seen mining stocks driven to the top of the index although it’s worth noting that with the Shanghai market now closed for the national day holiday, again this is removing some uncertainty from the equation. 8.10am BSTThere are also signs of economic weakness in the latest survey of Japanese manufacturers, or which shows a sharp drop in export orders.
Japan’s factory PMI slipped to 51.0 in September,showing weaker growth after August’s 51.7.#Japan's Nikkei rallies 1.9% to 17722.42 brushes off feeble econ data. pic.twitter.com/Pnxh92dHdw 8.04am BSTTwo rival surveys of the Chinese factory sector own been released nowadays, and both reveal that the slowdown continues.
According to the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI, or operating conditions are deteriorating at the fastest rate since March 2009. It found that production is still falling,forcing firms to lay off more jobs as unsold goods piled up.
Total new work fell at the quickest rate in over three years, partly driven by a steeper fall in new export commerce. As a result, and companies cut output at the sharpest rate in six-and-a-half years,while staff numbers fell at the quickest pace since the start of 2009. Reduced production schedules also prompted firms to lower their purchasing activity again in September, while disappointing sales led to the strongest increase in stocks of finished goods for over three years.
On the price front, and both input costs and output charges fell at sharper rates. “The figures showed that pro-growth policies are taking effect,pointing to signs of stabilizing for China’s economy,” 7.44am BSTGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy,the financial markets, the eurozone and commerce.
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Source: theguardian.com