Trading Floors Buzz With Excitement as BOJ Axes Negative Rates
One word echoed across trading floors from Tokyo to Singapore as the Bank of Japan raised rates for the first time in 17 years — ‘finally’.
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One word echoed across trading floors from Tokyo to Singapore as the Bank of Japan raised rates for the first time in 17 years — ‘finally’.
China Evergrande Group’s alleged $78 billion revenue overstatement escalates the legal peril of founder Hui Ka Yan, who now stands at the center of one of the biggest financial fraud cases in history.
Japan’s real estate shares were the biggest winners on Tuesday after a widely expected move by the Bank of Japan to end its negative rates regime, with investors focusing on the dovish tone by the central bank and the inflation outlook.
The painful decoupling offers a glimpse of what awaits both sides if the war in Gaza permanently ruptures ties.
Donald Trump lost his bid to prevent testimony from a porn star and a Playboy model at the former president’s criminal trial in New York, where he’s accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments before the 2016 election.
Aug 5, 2021
Bloomberg News
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Britain’s construction industry is struggling to keep up a surge in demand for new building work, complaining that a shortage of skilled workers and supplies is holding up projects.
Four in five construction firms surveyed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors say building material shortages are constraining activity, and two-thirds are finding it difficult to hire bricklayers and carpenters. So-called ‘white-collar’ professionals include quantity surveyors are also increasingly unavailable, according to the survey.
The findings indicate headwinds weighing on the pace of recovery in the construction industry as well as the wider economy. Loosening pandemic rules have unleashed pent-up demand while companies are struggling to reactivate workers they put on furlough.
Construction output fell unexpectedly in April and May after a boom earlier in the year, official government data show. The RICS report indicates that while the broader outlook for growth remains positive, constraints on the industry are continuing to weigh on momentum.
Labor shortages have become especially acute in the U.K. since the nation exited from the European Union, decreasing the pool of skilled workers. The number of EU construction workers has halved in the last four years, and contractors who laid off staff during lockdowns are struggling to hire them back.
Builders expect the cost of materials to rise by over 10% over the next year. According to a separate survey, wage growth expectations are highest in the construction industry along with transport and hospitality.
Despite mounting pressures and slumping growth in April and May, construction output is expected to rise 13.7% this year and 6.3% in 2022, according to the Construction Products Association. A surge in U.K. homebuilding helped propel construction activity to pre-pandemic levels in the first months of 2021 after total output plummeted 44% between February and April last year.
“The tone is ... pretty upbeat with new business inquiries picking up smartly,” said RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn. “Some concern is being expressed about rising construction costs.”
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