Fidelity Top Stories
May urged to halt implementation of Universal Credit scheme
A former top adviser to four Prime Ministers, including Theresa May, has urged the PM that if she insisted on moving ahead with her plan to implement her Universal Credit benefit scheme many Britons could be left homeless and destitute.
'Miracles' required to progress Brexit talks on to trade next month - Juncker
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said that there would have to be ‘miracles’ for Brexit talks to progress to trade issues in October.
Sterling slips as growth and services data disappoints, savings ratio surges
UK economic growth slowed to a four-year low in the second quarter of the year, part of a deluge of official figures on Friday that send the pound tumbling, also including a soft start to the third quarter for the services sector and a widening of the current account deficit.
UK consumer confidence improves thanks to stronger view of economy
UK consumers are ignoring concerns about their personal finances and taking confidence from the wider economy's resilience, research revealed on Friday.
UK workplace pension contributions at all-time high, but worries remain
Participation in occupational pensions surged to a record high in 2016 as more than 39m Britons made moves to save for their retirement, though there remains worries that many workers will still not have enough retirement savings.
UK consumer confidence picks up, business confidence wanes
UK consumer confidence improved but business confidence fell to a five-month low in September, the European economic sentiment indicator revealed on Thursday, as services weakness was not offset by an improvement in construction and retail.
May eyes continued spending curbs, Carney warns of Brexit risks
Prime Minister Theresa May and Bank of England governor Mark Carney separately warned about the effects of continues low interest rates and that Brexit was the biggest risk the UK faces, as both spoke at an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Bank's independence.
IMF pressures developed economies to shoulder climate change burden
Rich countries must do more to aid developing economies to deal with the effects of climate change, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Retailers surge back in September thanks to clothing and grocery bounce
Retail sales volumes bounced back this month are are expected to continue growing but at a slower pace in October, according to the CBI's survey of the sector published on Wednesday.
Bombardier accuses Boeing of trying to 'stifle competition' after new tariff
An interim tariff of 220% has been imposed on the import of Bombardier's C-Series jets to the US after its competitor Boeing lodged a complaint that alleged the Canadian firm was receiving unfair state subsidies from the UK and Canada in order to win a major contract.
Imprudent to wait until inflation hits 2% target, Fed's Yellen says
The head of the US central bank argued against waiting until inflation had returned to its 2. 0% target before tightening policy.
Theresa May to meet with Donald Tusk to resolve Brexit stalemate
Prime Minister Theresa May is to meet with European Council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday in order to kickstart stalling Brexit discussions.
Mortgage approvals flat, consumer credit dips, business deposits rise
UK mortgage lending remained largely unchanged but consumer credit eased lower last month, according to the latest figures from the banking industry, while businesses began to hold onto more cash in the face of political and economic uncertainty.
North Korea accuses US of declaring war
North Korea has accused the United States of declaring war against the country after Donald Trump’s comments directed towards Kim Jong-un in recent days.
BoE imposes new capital buffers due to 'pocket of consumer credit risk'
The Bank of England will call for banks to increase the amount of capital buffers they hold by £10bn as it warned that risks from rising debt are building in the UK and overseas based on overconfidence that recent benign conditions will continue.
Merkel returned as German chancellor despite election losses
German chancellor Angela Merkel has been re-elected for a fourth term as the country’s leader, with her CDU/CSU joint effort remaining the largest in the parliament after Sunday’s election.
Theresa May calls for post-Brexit transition period, new security treaty
In a speech in Florence on Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that she wanted a two-year "implementation period" post-Brexit and a new treaty with the European Union on security and justice.
Theresa May to propose two-year post-Brexit trade deal with EU
Theresa May was set to tell EU leaders that there was a shared responsibility between them to ensure that they could "smoothly" implement Brexit in an attempt to break the current stalemate in negotiations.
Kim Jong-un tells Trump he will 'pay dearly' as sanctions stepped up
Kim Jong-un has responded to Donald Trump's recent threats where the latter said he would "totally destroy" North Korea if the US or its allies were attacked.
Barnier fires shot across May's bows ahead of Florence speech
Ahead of the UK Prime Minister's major Brexit speech on Friday, chief European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned Theresa May against trying to have her cake and eat it and stressing that if a transition period is requested it will first require a withdrawal agreement.