This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/jul/27/uk-gdp-economy-growth-brexit-referendum-pound-markets-live
The article has changed 18 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UK GDP figures show how economy was growing before Brexit vote – business live | UK GDP figures show how economy was growing before Brexit vote – business live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.44am BST | |
| 08:44 | |
| UK companies upbeat about Brexit impact | |
| Encouragingly, several UK companies have told shareholders this morning that they’re not suffering any serious harm from the Brexit vote. | |
| Yet, anyway. | |
| Here’s Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey: | |
| One month on from the EU Referendum, current trading remains in line with normal seasonal patterns. Customer interest continues to be high, with a good level of visitors both to our developments and to our website. | |
| Challenger bank Metro says: | |
| “Metro Bank is in a strong position to deal with any post European Referendum uncertainty. Since the Referendum vote we have seen no change in customer behaviour or impact on business flows.” | |
| Fund manager Jupiter is also upbeat: | |
| Jupiter has continued to deliver strong investment outperformance after all fees in the first half of the year. Net flows were positive despite the market backdrop and we made further targeted investments to support our strategy of diversification by product, client type and geography which continues to deliver on behalf of our clients and shareholders. | |
| Since the end of June, we have continued to see net flows into our products. | |
| It’s early days, of course - Britain hasn’t even triggered Article 50 to begin the formal exit from the EU. | |
| Updated | |
| at 8.45am BST | |
| 8.34am BST | |
| 08:34 | |
| Today’s second-quarter growth figures could be a “last hurrah” before the Brexit vote plunges the UK into recession early next year. | |
| That’s according to Bloomberg’s Jill Ward, who flags up that economists expect GDP to shrink slightly over the next six months:. | |
| So, even if the growth rate does rise to 0.5%, we should still brace for trouble ahead: | |
| Samuel Tombs, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told them: | |
| “The economy had done quite well in the run-up to the referendum, but that can turn pretty quickly. | |
| “We’ve already seen consumer confidence fall very sharply and all of the survey data has just collapsed over the last month.” | |
| More here: | |
| British Economy’s Last Hurrah Awaited Before Brexit Growth Shock | |
| And here’s what a ‘last hurrah’ looks like in practice #ouch | |
| In other words, this is a fairly accurate description of the U.K. economy https://t.co/RAnIWFqcXb pic.twitter.com/VCGO5FRP8i | |
| Updated | |
| at 8.45am BST | |
| 8.25am BST | |
| 08:25 | |
| Critics often argue that GDP is a poor measure of the health of an economy. | |
| For example, it doesn’t distinguish between valuable and harmful economic output, nor does it include voluntary work or unpaid activity. It also doesn’t measure economic inequality, or living standards. | |
| And we have a perfect example of that today; a survey showing that UK real wages (earnings adjusted for inflation) have shrunk by 10% since the 2007 financial crisis. | |
| That dire performance is only matched by Greece, and shows why many people have felt isolated from the recovery since the crisis. | |
| Related: UK joins Greece at bottom of wage growth league | |
| Frances O’Grady of the TUC (which prepared the report) says it shows the economy is still too fragile: | |
| “Wages fell off the cliff after the financial crisis, and have barely begun to recover,. | |
| People cannot afford another hit to their pay packets. Working people must not foot the bill for a Brexit downturn in the way they did for the bankers’ crash.” | |
| 8.15am BST | 8.15am BST |
| 08:15 | 08:15 |
| Government cheers Glaxo's £275m investment push | Government cheers Glaxo's £275m investment push |
| Phamaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline has given the British economy a boost, by announcing a £275m investment programme to expand its UK manufacturing sites. | Phamaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline has given the British economy a boost, by announcing a £275m investment programme to expand its UK manufacturing sites. |
| GSK swept aside worries about the Brexit vote, declaring that it was driven to invest the money by the UK’s “skilled workforce and competitive tax system”. | GSK swept aside worries about the Brexit vote, declaring that it was driven to invest the money by the UK’s “skilled workforce and competitive tax system”. |
| The money will be spent across three GSK sites: Barnard Castle in County Durham, Montrose in Angus, and Ware in Hertfordshire. | The money will be spent across three GSK sites: Barnard Castle in County Durham, Montrose in Angus, and Ware in Hertfordshire. |
| Understandably, the UK government has hailed the news - as a sign that Britain is still open for business despite voting to leave the EU. | Understandably, the UK government has hailed the news - as a sign that Britain is still open for business despite voting to leave the EU. |
| Business and Energy Secretary, Greg Clark argues: | Business and Energy Secretary, Greg Clark argues: |
| “An investment of this scale is a clear vote of confidence in Britain and underlines our position as a global business leader. | “An investment of this scale is a clear vote of confidence in Britain and underlines our position as a global business leader. |
| GSK’s recognition of our skilled workforce, world leading scientific capabilities and competitive tax environment is further proof that there really is no place better in Europe to grow a business.” | GSK’s recognition of our skilled workforce, world leading scientific capabilities and competitive tax environment is further proof that there really is no place better in Europe to grow a business.” |
| 7.52am BST | 7.52am BST |
| 07:52 | 07:52 |
| The Agenda: UK growth figures due today | The Agenda: UK growth figures due today |
| Good morning. | Good morning. |
| Britain’s economy is centre-stage today, as we await the official UK GDP figures for the second quarter of this year. | Britain’s economy is centre-stage today, as we await the official UK GDP figures for the second quarter of this year. |
| That report, due at 9.30am sharp, will show how well the British economy performed in the second quarter of this year. | That report, due at 9.30am sharp, will show how well the British economy performed in the second quarter of this year. |
| The City consensus is that the economy grew by 0.4% between April and June, matching the fairly modest growth recorded in January to March. | The City consensus is that the economy grew by 0.4% between April and June, matching the fairly modest growth recorded in January to March. |
| But some fear that the growth rate may have slowed, perhaps to 0.3%. | But some fear that the growth rate may have slowed, perhaps to 0.3%. |
| Today’s report is particularly important as it covered the period running up to the June 23 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. It should show whether the UK economy was in decent shape as the nation headed to the polling booths, or already weakening. | Today’s report is particularly important as it covered the period running up to the June 23 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. It should show whether the UK economy was in decent shape as the nation headed to the polling booths, or already weakening. |
| Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, explains why the GDP report matters: | Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, explains why the GDP report matters: |
| “It will tell us if the referendum gave the UK economy the jitters in the lead up to the vote. | “It will tell us if the referendum gave the UK economy the jitters in the lead up to the vote. |
| “There are several indicators which have pointed to a slowdown in economic activity as the referendum approached.” | “There are several indicators which have pointed to a slowdown in economic activity as the referendum approached.” |
| The report will also show how Britain’s manufacturing, services, construction and agriculture all performed during the quarter. | The report will also show how Britain’s manufacturing, services, construction and agriculture all performed during the quarter. |
| As this chart shows, Services has provided the bulk of the growth since the financial crisis - making it more dominant than ever. | As this chart shows, Services has provided the bulk of the growth since the financial crisis - making it more dominant than ever. |
| It’s also a busy morning for UK financial results, with housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, broadcaster ITV, challenger banks Shawbrook and Metro Bank all reporting to the City. They’ll doubtless be talking Brexit today. | It’s also a busy morning for UK financial results, with housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, broadcaster ITV, challenger banks Shawbrook and Metro Bank all reporting to the City. They’ll doubtless be talking Brexit today. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.25am BST |