BlackRock falls short of expectations due to low pound and wary investors July 14, 2016 The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock has missed expectations in its second quarter. Revenue is down three per cent to $2.8bn (£2bn), net income declined four per cent to $789m, while assets under management also fell four per cent on last year to $4.89 trillion. BlackRock’s adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $4.78, falling short of an analyst consensus of $4.81. The New York [...]
Pound surges as Bank of England monetary policy committee maintains interest rates – despite Brexit panic July 14, 2016 The pound jumped nearly two per cent against the dollar after the Bank of England failed to cut UK interest rates, despite widely-held speculation it would move to calm fears over the impact of Brexit. The pound was up 1.76 per cent against the dollar, at $1.3378, after it emerged the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) [...]
New chancellor Philip Hammond says no need for emergency budget July 14, 2016 The recently appointed chancellor, Philip Hammond, has assured that there was no need for an emergency Budget. His predecessor, George Osborne, had warned he would be forced to slash public spending and increase taxes to fill a £30bn "black hole" following a Brexit vote. Read more: What to expect from chancellor Philip Hammond Speaking to Sky News [...]
May and the three Brexiteers lead Britain July 14, 2016 If there were any doubts that the new Prime Minister really meant it when she said “Brexit means Brexit” they were put to bed last night as she appointed three senior Leave campaigners to oversee the process of the UK's departure from the EU, the forging of new global trade deals and the creation of [...]
With the Bank of England expected to cut interest rates, is looser monetary policy now a necessity for developed economies? July 14, 2016 Alasdair Cavalla, senior economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research, says Yes. For central banks, today’s world looks very different to before the crisis. In a deflationary era, the trade-off between inflation and growth could hardly have moved further in the doves’ favour. China’s rise leaves unprecedented imbalances: overcapacity of supply; abundance of capital; and [...]
We’re all in the dark when it comes to her economic policies – but here are five conjectures July 14, 2016 This is one of those articles I could live to regret. Speculating on the future economic policies of a Prime Minister in power for less than a day is either bold, reckless or both. We’re all in the dark, a bit like Ken Clarke, who said last week that he only knew in detail what [...]
Over to you, Carney – our MPC has voted to cut rates July 14, 2016 Mark Carney will reveal today whether the Bank of England will cut interest rates for the first time since March 2009, following the public’s surprise decision to vote for Brexit at the end of last month. Markets have priced in an 80 per cent chance of a cut to the main bank rate, which currently stands [...]
Economists for Brexit call for the government to unilaterally dismantle all trade tariff barriers July 13, 2016 A renegade group of pro-Brexit economists have laid out their plans for how the UK should navigate the instability caused by the UK leaving the European Union. They claim UK GDP could grow by 2.3 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2017 if the government follows their advice to unilaterally dismantle all [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 dips as pre-BoE jitters seize European markets July 13, 2016 The FTSE 100 has dialled back its earlier gains to skid at the close this evening. The blue-chip index finished down just a touch at 6,670.40, off by 10 points – or 0.15 per cent. It's the second flat close on the bounce for the FTSE 100 after ending yesterday's session unchanged. It had earlier in today's session climbed to 6,717.17. The [...]
Is foreign secretary Philip Hammond set to be named the UK’s new chancellor? July 13, 2016 Foreign secretary Philip Hammond is emerging as a frontrunner to become the new chancellor in Theresa May's first cabinet. May is expected to name her top team in the coming days, and Hammond has been widely named as the likely inheritor of one of the government's most senior roles. According to ITV political editor Robert Peston, Hammond [...]