Latest GDP figures show that Britain lagged behind other advanced economies in the first quarter of this year
- Latest: UK slides to bottom of G7 growth table
- Canada becomes latest advanced economy to beat UK in Q1
In the markets….
- FTSE 100 hits record high after Panelbase poll
- Pound hits six-week low in volatile trading
- YouGov: Theresa May could fall short of majority…
- …Analysts aren’t convinced
- Housing market is slowing as mortgage approvals fall
The recovery in the pound has left the FTSE 100 in the red after the index earlier hit a new all time peak, and it was a fairly mixed picture elsewhere. With Wall Street falling back, European markets had an uncertain feel about them, with concerns about the forthcoming elections, not just in the UK but in Germany and perhaps Italy too. But despite this, they did manage to record their fourth straight month of gains, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index up 0.9% in May. The final scores showed:
Here’s Reuters on the correction to the earlier Chicago purchasing managers’ report:
The initially reported headline figure for the Chicago PMI was apparently incorrect and Market News International has “revised” it to 59.4 from 55.2 first reported. The update changed the entire complexion of the original report and renders earlier market analysis largely inoperative. It took the headline index from an initial report of a 4-month low to being a 30-month high. MNI removed the original May release from the ISM-Chicago website but did not explain its error.