UK-EU trade tumbles a quarter in first three months since end of Brexit transition period May 25, 2021 The total volume of trade between the UK and the EU plunged nearly a quarter in the first three months after the end of the Brexit transition agreement. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed that total trade fell 23.1 per cent in the quarter, as compared with the same three [...]
Investment professionals must beware of the cyber risks in portfolios May 25, 2021 | City Talk Internet security blog posts are usually more at home on the inside pages of IT trade publications than on the front pages of international newspapers. The one published by Microsoft Corporate Vice President Tom Burt on 2 March, about the emergence of “state-sponsored threat actor” Hafnium, was a notable exception. A new threat had emerged, [...]
Public sector borrowing shows first year-on-year fall since start of pandemic May 25, 2021 Public sector borrowing is estimated to have been £31.7bn in April, £15.6bn less than in the same month last year when public finances first fell the full impact of the pandemic. The fall in borrowing in April compared with a year earlier is the first annual decline since the start of the pandemic, but last month’s borrowing remains huge [...]
Andrew Bailey says there are some ‘hot spots for prices’ but plays down inflation fears May 24, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned there are some “very hot spots in terms of prices”, but that he is confident inflation won’t run well above the UK’s two per cent target in the long-term. Annual CPI increased from 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent in April, creating fears among some that [...]
City A.M. TV: A Market Snapshot May 24, 2021 Are markets resilient or rolling? That’s a key question currently on investors’ minds. That’s especially so given the concerns about the recent high US core CPI inflation print as well as the troubling price action in Bitcoin. In this clip, we stand back from the market noise and look at what the price action is [...]
Brexit exclusive: UK-Norway trade deal close to collapsing as Christian-Democrats block pact to protect farmers from British beef and cheese May 24, 2021 A comprehensive free trade deal between the UK and Norway is at risk of collapsing as the Christian Democrat party fears such a pact would hit farmers in Scandinavia’s richest country too hard. The Christian Democrats party (Krf), part of the current coalition government, plans to block opening up the Norwegian market to British beef [...]
CBI: Bold changes needed after pandemic to transform the UK into trading powerhouse May 24, 2021 CBI: Bold changes needed to transform UK into trading powerhouse
City A.M. TV: A Market Snapshot May 21, 2021 Despite some giveback earlier this week, price action in markets has been reasonably encouraging for the bulls, especially in the past 48 hours. In particular, a number of major asset prices have tested, held, and rallied from key support levels this week (including the S&P500, the NASDAQ100, and Bitcoin). In the case of Bitcoin, the [...]
UK business activity grew at fastest pace since 1998 in May May 21, 2021 Business activity in the UK expanded at its fastest rate since 1998 in May as the economy raced out of lockdown, new data today showed. A flash reading of the IHS Markit Composite PMI, which combines services and manufacturing, came in at 62.0, up from 60.7 in April. Any score above 50 indicates growth. IHS [...]
Labour steps up pressure on Rishi Sunak over Biden’s global tax plan May 20, 2021 Labour has stepped up its push to get Rishi Sunak to agree to Joe Biden’s plan for a minimum business tax rate among the world’s biggest economies. The party is calling on the government to put together a review of the effects of Biden’s proposal to implement a 21 per cent minimum on global business [...]