Strong growth for Japan; disappointing figures from China

Japan’s economic growth was revised higher on Wednesday, expanding to an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The figure had been revised up from an initial estimate of 1.7 percent, below analysts’ expectations. Japan has struggled to grow its economy over the last few years, with stimulus measures put in place by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having little effect.

After an initial fall, the Nikkei 225 bounced 0.9 percent on the news.

Elsewhere in China, however, markets were mixed after Chinese exports fell 4.1 percent in May. Imports also dropped 0.4 percent, sending both the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng down.

Sainsbury’s sales figures fall

Sainsbury’s has been hit again by disappointing growth in the supermarket sector, reporting a 0.8 percent drop in quarterly sales on Wednesday.

The figure came as a step down from the 0.1 percent growth seen in the fourth quarter of last year, with many hoping the tough supermarket sector was beginning to show improvement. However, alongside their most recent results, Sainsbury’s warned that it did not expect market conditions to improve any time soon.

“Market conditions remain challenging. Food price deflation continues to impact our sales and pressures on pricing mean the market will remain competitive for the foreseeable future,” said CEO Mike Coupe.

UK hiring slows as referendum worries weigh

The upcoming referendum vote impacted upon UK hiring in May, according to the latest figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

Worries over the 23rd June EU referendum are influencing businesses when deciding whether to hire and expand in case of a negative impact from Brexit. Starting salaries for permanent staff rose at the weakest rate since October 2013, and expenditure on hiring for temporary staff also fell.

British firms created 44,000 jobs in the first quarter of this year, a big step down from the 195,000 in the last three months of 2015.

08/06/2016