1 US growth fastest in two years (BBC) The US
economy grew at the fastest pace in two years in the third quarter, initial
figures have indicated. The world's largest economy grew at an annual rate of
2.9% in the three months to September, the Commerce Department said.
The stronger-than-forecast rate could increase
expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end
of the year. The annualised rate of 2.9% is equivalent to a quarter-on-quarter
rate of 0.7%, which is the way that many other countries express their growth
rates.
"There's nothing here that will put the Fed off
hiking in December," said Aberdeen Asset Management fixed income
investment manager Luke Bartholomew. "This shows that the US is roughly on
track. It's a natural bounce-back following a pretty underwhelming year so far.”
2 Twitter layoffs part of massive cuts in tech
(David Curran in San Francisco Chronicle) The tech layoffs continue to mount in
2016, as San Francisco's Twitter is set to announce this week that it's laying
off roughly 300 people.
It comes on the heels of thousands of other tech
industry cuts in 2016. Intel, IBM and Cisco are a few of the giant corporations
that have let people go but many startups have also contributed to the
thousands of pink slips doled out this year in San Francisco and Silicon
Valley.
And there may be much more to come, with some
predicting many more companies with layoffs this year.
3 England, Wales
insolvencies jump by a fifth (The Guardian) The number of people becoming
insolvent across England and Wales leapt by a fifth in the third quarter of
2016, with experts warning that the numbers could continue to increase as the
cost of living rises following the UK’s Brexit vote.
There were 24,251 personal insolvencies between July
and September, marking a 19.3% increase compared with the third quarter of 2015
and a 6% rise on the second quarter of this year, the figures from the
Insolvency Service show.
Insolvency experts said the rising cost of living
had combined with changes to the rules on insolvencies to drive up the numbers,
and that price rises resulting from the falling pound could push more people
into difficulty.
Between July and September, the number of
bankruptcies – often seen as a last resort – increased by 7% compared with the
second quarter of 2016, with 3,844 new cases recorded in the third quarter, the
figures show. Despite the jump, bankruptcies are still down by 1.5% compared
with a year ago.
Brian Johnson, insolvency partner at HW Fisher &
Co chartered accountant, said the rise in IVAs was down to the fact that people
carrying debt were doing so in a largely resilient economy where jobs were
still stable and they could still earn enough to make payments. “How the
economy performs in the next year or two, and the direction of interest rates,
will have a material impact on personal insolvency levels moving forward,” he
said.
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