By ADRIAN LOWCOCK 03/07/2009
A round up of the latest major economic news and developments.
US jobless total hit highest point since 1983
On Thursday it was announced that the US non-farm payroll employment figures had fallen by 467,000 in June, over 25% more than was expected. The news sent stock markets into their biggest falls since April, with the FTSE falling 2.45%. The report pours cold water on May’s data which had fuelled hopes of a strong recovery.
Keydata
The sale of Keydata Investment Services was put on hold as it came to light there were some dealing irregularities. These were on top of the initial problem of the tax treatment of some of their ISA products.
The Serious Fraud Office has been contacted by the FSA in relation to a delayed income payment of £103 million, due from an investment in SLS Capital (a Luxembourg company). A Keydata spokesperson has confirmed the delayed payment fell within the terms of the contract.
Britain’s GDP falls the most in 51 years
This week, in a reminder of how severe the recession has been, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revised the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the first quarter of this year down to 2.4%, from the previous estimate of 1.9%. The UK’S GDP has fallen 4.9% since the first quarter of 2008, with the construction and manufacturing sectors contributing falls of 6.9% and 5.5% respectively.
California declares fiscal emergency
The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has declared a fiscal emergency in the state in an attempt to address a budget deficit of US$24.3 billion (£14.5 billion). The announcement was made after politicians failed to pass budget cuts on Tuesday to address the situation
California, the world’s 8th largest economy, has been one of the hardest hit by the global recession. The legislature has 45 days to address the shortfall, and if they fail to find a solution, they are barred from carry out any other legislative work until they do.