US fourth-quarter productivity is slashed

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.

March 06 2014 10:32 PM

The US government sharply revised down non-farm productivity for the fourth quarter, mirroring the economy's slow growth pace in the same period.

Productivity rose at a 1.8pc annual rate instead of the previously reported 3.2pc pace, the Labour Department said. Productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 3.5pc pace in the third quarter.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected fourth-quarter productivity would be revised down to a 2.5pc rate.

The government last week cut its estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth to an annual pace of 2.4pc from the previously estimated 3.2pc rate. Productivity increased 1.3pc compared with the same period in 2012.

Shell boss urges Scotland to stay in union

SHELL has become the second oil heavyweight to urge Scotland to stay in the UK, a new setback for the campaign for Scottish independence. Shell boss Ben van Beurden said a vote for independence on September 18 would mean greater uncertainty for the energy industry, given the important role of North Sea oil and gas.

Mr Van Beurden said he valued "the continuity and stability" that the UK offered, arguing for its continued membership of the European Union and Scotland remaining part of the country.

"We want to know as accurately as possible what investment conditions will look like 10 or 20 years from now," he said.

UK keeps benchmark rate at record low

Bank of England policymakers extended unprecedented stimulus into a sixth year yesterday as they seek to ensure the economy fully recovers from the damage wrought by the financial crisis.

The Monetary Policy Committee led by governor Mark Carney, right, held its benchmark interest rate at 0.5pc. The central bank has maintained borrowing costs at a record low since March 2009, the longest stretch of unchanged policy since the 1940s. Mr Carney says there's "no rush" to remove the emergency stimulus.

"The economy is in a sweet spot for now," said David Tinsley, an economist at BNP Paribas.