Awkward: USD GDP growth comes in below expectations January 26, 2018 Donald Trump’s speech at Davos may have sung the praises of the US economy, but as he spoke, official figures suggested growth in the US economy was weaker than expected. Growth hit 2.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year, figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed, below economists’ expectations of [...]
Focus On Deptford: We delve into the housing market in the Help to Buy capital of London January 26, 2018 Since Help to Buy, the government’s equity scheme to help first time buyers on to the property ladder, was announced in 2013, it’s created thousands of new home owners. And nowhere has benefited more from this than Deptford. This once run down part of south east London is now the Help to Buy capital of [...]
Davos 2018: Donald Trump tells industry leaders “America is open for business” at World Economic Forum January 26, 2018 President Donald Trump has today asked global businesses to invest in the USA, saying that “America is open for business”. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he told delegates that there has “never been a better time to hire, to invest, to build in the United States”. “Come to America where you [...]
Bitcoin price (BTC) is dropping as Japan’s Coincheck halts withdrawals January 26, 2018 The price of bitcoin has slumped more than six per cent this morning amid news that a huge Japanese exchange has halted client withdrawals. Bitcoin has had a tumultuous start to 2018. After rising close to $20,000 in December, the cryptocurrency king has halved in value this month due to murmurs about regulation from nations [...]
HICL (HICL) share price falls on news it is braced for £50m hit from Carillion collapse but reaffirms dividend guidance January 26, 2018 HICL Infrastructure Company today said Carillion’s liquidation had triggered loan agreement defaults at projects and management subcontracts with the firm. At present it says the estimated impact of Carillion’s demise on HICL will be around £50m in net asset value, adding to a prior provision of £9.4m. Shares dropped more than two per cent in [...]
UK GDP: The economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter of last year January 26, 2018 The UK’s economy grew 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, an official estimate has suggested, higher than economists had expected Fourth-quarter figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed growth was up on the third quarter’s figure of 0.4 per cent. However, the estimate put growth for the whole of 2017 at 1.8 [...]
Dollar weakness has driven sterling higher (GBPUSD) January 26, 2018 The pound shot up in morning trading as traders continued to take comments by US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin to heart – although it failed to touch yesterday’s highs. Sterling rose as much as 0.75 per cent to $1.4264 in early trading, while the euro rose 0.5 per cent to $1.2485. The dollar’s weakness followed [...]
Blackrock boss Larry Fink says President Donald Trump has been good for the global economy January 26, 2018 Blackrock’s chairman and chief executive has said US President Donald Trump has been “good for the global economy” so far. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Larry Fink said Trump “has been good for the US economy, and therefore it’s been good for the global economy”. “I may disagree with many things he’s said,” [...]
Online stalwart Asos is in for a fashion face-off with Amazon’s wardrobe service January 26, 2018 What do Debenhams, House of Fraser, Mothercare and Asos not have in common? Cracking Christmas clothing sales. While the high street’s stalwarts struggled to attract bargain-hunting shoppers over the festive season, their smaller online-only rival yesterday revealed a 30 per cent rise in sales for the final four months of 2017. Asos, or as As [...]
Carillion collapse poses big questions for investors, Jes Staley’s FCA delay goes on and The Range floats chairs January 26, 2018 When in doubt, blame the accountants: a mantra which has gathered momentum after virtually every big corporate collapse since the financial crisis. Carillion is no exception. It seems obvious to ask now why KPMG signed off the construction group’s accounts in March without the merest hint of anxiety. Hindsight being a wonderful thing, the wafer-thin [...]