Tory race should come down to experience July 6, 2016 By Thursday night we'll know which two Tory MPs will face a ballot of the party membership. One will emerge as David Cameron's successor in No 10. Five aspiring PMs entered the first round of voting yesterday, and now just three remain. Liam Fox was the first to fall. Having stood unsuccessfully for the party [...]
George Osborne and the government share some of the blame for post-Brexit uncertainty July 5, 2016 "Businesses and markets hate uncertainty”. How many times have we heard that recently? In the aftermath of the referendum result, when the value of the pound fell and the FTSE 100 and 250 indices contracted, “uncertainty” was the buzzword. This suggests that the market reaction was a manifestation of investors asking the question: “what is [...]
As Mark Carney warns of a “material slowing in the economy”, can Britain avoid a recession? July 5, 2016 Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. Avoiding a recession is now the number one challenge facing our economic policy-makers. Despite a base rate at 0.5 per cent and public sector deficit still in excess of 4 per cent of GDP, the Bank and the Treasury still possess a well-resourced policy arsenal. Nimble use [...]
Sterling sinks below $1.30 for the first time in over three decades July 5, 2016 Sterling has been knocked back today, tumbling against the dollar and the euro as the ramifications of the Brexit vote continue to filter through. The pound was off by two per cent against the dollar, falling to exactly $1.2997 shortly after the London market close. It bounced after falling under the psychological barrier, climbing back to dizzy highs [...]
Aviva and M&G become the latest property funds to suspend trading as investors flee the Brexit-battered industry July 5, 2016 Two more property funds have suspended trading today as investors pull their money out of UK commercial property. M&G announced this afternoon that it was temporarily suspending trading in the shares of the M&G Property Portfolio. And earlier today Aviva suspended trading in its property fund, just after the Bank of England said this morning that it was [...]
Banks agree to dish out Carney’s £150bn loan windfall July 5, 2016 The UK's biggest lenders have agreed to dish out up to £150bn in extra loans to households and businesses after George Osborne and Mark Carney heaped pressure on them to prop up the economy after the EU referendum. This morning, Carney announced a cut to major UK banks' capital requirements which will reduce the amount of capital [...]
Carney for PM? Bank of England governor praised for Brexit response July 5, 2016 With political crisis engulfing Westminster in the wake of the EU referendum, businesses have increasingly had to rely on other sources of authority to fill the void. David Cameron has been conspicuously absent from the big stage since he resigned in the hours after the vote, while the Conservative leadership race has hijacked much of the decision [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 5, 2016 The Bank of England has slashed its capital requirements for UK banks, the pound is at a new 31 year low, and Australia's central bank has held interest rates unchanged at 1.75 per cent. Here's what you need to know before the US open at 2.30pm London time. US futures are pointing south after coming back from [...]
Oil slips below $50 per barrel as global economic storm clouds gather July 5, 2016 The oil price has dipped below $50 per barrel as investors fret over a potential slowdown in global economic growth. It's feared that a global slowdown could result in a slackening in demand and recent supply outages in Nigeria and other exporting nations have not been enough to offset fears. At pixel time Brent crude was [...]
Strong demand for government debt in first post-referendum bond auction July 5, 2016 The UK government dipped its toe back into the waters of the global debt markets today, selling £2.5bn of bonds at record low interest rates in the first auction since the referendum. The debt, which came with a five-year maturity, will yield just 0.38 per cent in a sign investors are still keen to lend to [...]