Growth in China’s manufacturing sector slowed in April, providing further evidence of weakness in the world’s second-largest economy, reports the Financial Times.
China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 50.6 in April from 50.9 in March, indicating a slowdown in manufacturing activity that was led by a slump in new export orders. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector while a reading below 50 means that activity shrank.
George Osborne warns Bank of England that clampdown on UK lenders and City could derail fragile economy
George Osborne yesterday warned the Bank of England that a clampdown on UK lenders and the City could derail the fragile economy, reports the Daily Mail
The chancellor said the new Financial Policy Committee set up to police the banking system should consider ‘the impact of its actions on the near-term economic recovery’.
Eurozone unemployment hits new high
Governments across the eurozone have again been left counting the human cost of the financial crisis after news that unemployment in the currency bloc reached a record high, driven by soaring youth joblessness, reports The Guardian.
Eurozone unemployment rose to 12.1 per cent for March, an all-time high, according to Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union. In the wider EU area of 27 countries, unemployment stood at 10.9 per cent, as the rate increased in all but eight countries compared with a year earlier.
The great cash giveaway is on as investors flock to Apple
Apple launched the largest corporate bond offering in history last night when it raised $17bn (£10.9bn) to finance its proposed $100bn giveaway to shareholders, reports The Times.
The technology group was flooded with demand for its first big debt offering and Wall Street sources said that the company could easily have raised as much as $50bn.
UK warns Scotland on breakaway
An independent Scotland would probably have to reapply to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, British lawmakers said in a report published Wednesday that also highlighted the potential damage to the UK’s international standing if Scotland were to secede, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Scots go to the polls on September 18 next year to vote on whether to stay in the UK or go it alone as an independent nation.
