All the latest economic and financial news, including whether the cost of living in Britain has fallen for the first time in decadesOvernight: Varoufakis says he’d rather pay pensions than the IMFIntroduction: Markets await UK CPI and Greek developments 8.17am BST Car sales numbers from Greece suggest Greeks are storing cash in cars. Whether that is in the boot or not remains to be seen 8.12am BST Car sales across Europe have risen for the 20th month running, helped by a remarkable boom in demand in Greece.Industry body ACEA has reported that new passenger registrations in the EU rose by 6.9% year-on-year in April, as the pick-up in consumer spending continues.All major markets contributed positively to the overall expansion, especially Italy (+24.2%), which posted double‐digit growth, followed by Germany (+6.3%), the UK (+5.1%), Spain (+3.2%) and France (+2.3%) that also performed better than in April 2014. European car sales rose a 20th consecutive month in April, bolstered by reviving economy and new models from Renault, BMW and Fiat ChryslerDespite depreciating in value quite quickly, cars are still a handy asset to own because they can be put to productive use - especially if the alternative is just stashing your money under a mattress. In a strange irony of Greece’s woes, German industry is perversely one of the main beneficiaries of the country’s banking collapse. Greek consumers, like many of their fellow Europeans, buy German cars more than any other brand. Cars sales: decent proxy for Greek capital flight http://t.co/zILnpZQVM3 7.52am BST Germany’s Deutsche Bank has made a dramatic intervention into the debate over Britain’s membership of the European Union, revealing it might quit the City if the UK left the EU. Related: Deutsche Bank may leave Britain in event of 'Brexit' – reports 7.44am BST Last night, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was grilled about the country’s bailout negotiations in a live TV interview on Star TV.“I think we are very close....Let’s say (it’s a matter) of about a week.”“I assure you that if we face a dilemma between paying a creditor who refuses to sign an agreement with us and a pensioner, we will pay the pensioner.....I hope we will be able to pay both.”“The lack of liquidity is neither the choice nor the responsibility of the Greek government. It is a tough negotiating tactic of our partners, and I do not know whether everybody in Europe feels proud of it.”“It would be unfair for Greek citizens to have to take a position on such a matter, answering with either a yes or a no.”Varoufakis: I am a soldier, never considered resigning - http://t.co/pj2NGKwYfW pic.twitter.com/zy6fvUBFIdVaroufakis: We are NOT considering a different currency -http://t.co/ggxdwIAyEK 7.24am BST Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.Britain’s headline inflation rate may turn negative for the first time in half a century. The cost of living has been unchanged for the last two months, but economists reckon it could actually have fallen in April, thanks to the cheaper oil and fuel. Related: UK inflation picked to turn negative for the first time in more than 50 years Related: Alexis Tsipras claims Greece is close to securing deal with Brussels and the IMF With a suspension of repayments [of the debt], measures that restrict the “freedom” of capital flight, governmental control over the banks, taxation of capital and of the rich for the financing of pro-people measures, support of this policy with any and all possible means, and with the possible break from the EMU.Call for "rupture now" by the Political Secretariat & Central Committee of #Syriza http://t.co/cGcxZlGExD #Greece Continue reading...
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