Friday newspaper round-up: Carney, Nationalisation, Help to Buy

27th Sep 2013 07:24

Mark Carney, the Bank of England Governor, sees no need for more stimulus for the economy given the gathering pace of the recovery, sending the pound higher. He said the central bank would consider the case for adding to the 375bn pounds it has already pumped into the economy should the recovery falter: "But my personal view is, given the recovery has strengthened and broadened, I don't see a case for quantitative easing and I have not supported it," he said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post published on Friday, The Daily Telegraph reports. A leading energy boss has called for the nationalisation of large parts of the industry to prevent the UK's power and gas market from being manipulated by foreign companies. In an extraordinary intervention, Kevin McCullough, the Chief Executive of UK Coal, has called for the Government to take control of assets in the country that are owned by German, French and Spanish companies, The Times says. George Osborne has given the Bank of England a greater role in ensuring that his flagship Help to Buy scheme does not create a housing bubble. The Chancellor, who said earlier this month that the financing scheme is not a "weapon of mass destruction", has asked the central bank's Financial Policy Committee to review the Help to Buy programme every year. The FPC was originally told to advise on the plan every three years, according to The Daily Telegraph.Economists expect the UK economy to accelerate in the autumn after official figures today confirmed that output grew at a rapid 0.7% in the second quarter. Gross domestic product growth in the first three months of the year was also revised up to 0.4% from 0.3%, the Office for National Statistics said, taking economic growth in the first half of the year to 1.1%. The third and final estimate of second quarter growth showed consumers spent an extra £661m between April and June, with spending on new cars 4.5% higher than three months earlier, The Daily Mail says. The average UK home is increasing in value by more than £50 a day, according to new figures from Nationwide which also show that prices in some London boroughs, including Hackney and Islington, have doubled over the past decade. Britain's biggest building society said the acceleration in house prices had been "surprisingly quick", with the annual rate of growth now running at 5% nationally and 10% in London - in both cases the strongest figures since 2010. As recently as May this year, the UK annual rate was just 1%, according to The Guardian.Leaders of consumer and energy groups have rallied to support Ed Miliband's proposals to freeze prices and shake up the power market, saying his initiative had exploded outdated ideas that radical reform was not necessary or possible. As Centrica and SSE saw their share prices hit hard for the second day in a row, Adam Scorer, director of policy at the independent organisation Consumer Futures, said he did not accept the threats from the big six power companies that a shake-up could lead to the lights going out and investment drying up, The Guardian writes. Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.AB