Emerging market meltdown threatens UK financial system, says Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey October 28, 2018 A meltdown in emerging markets could threaten the UK’s financial system, the head of the Financial Conduct Authority said. Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the City watchdog, warned that a crash in emerging economies with “debt-sustainability issues” is a risk as the post-crisis period of low interest rates concludes. The warning came as emerging market stocks fell for the [...]
DEBATE: With less than six months to go until Brexit, does this Budget actually matter? October 26, 2018 With less than six months to go until Brexit, does this Budget actually matter? Rhiannon Kinghall Were is head of tax policy at Macfarlanes. Getting this year’s Budget right matters, both politically and economically. It is taking place in a highly charged political environment – even if it appears literate on paper, this is not [...]
Members block the UK’s bid to fast-track its post-Brexit entry into the World Trade Organisation October 25, 2018 The UK’s bid to fast-track its post-Brexit entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed today, after other countries expressed misgivings over Britain’s approach to tariffs. The news means the UK will face a longer path towards using the WTO, by entering a lengthy period of negotiations. That means the process of joining the WTO [...]
DEBATE: Has the EU overstepped the mark by rejecting Italy’s budget? October 25, 2018 Has the EU overstepped the mark by rejecting Italy’s budget? Matthew Elliott, senior political adviser to Shore Capital, says YES. From the moment Britain’s Brexit referendum was announced in 2013, the EU started to moderate its most overt interventionist instincts, minimising Eurozone problems through quantitative easing, and restricting its tendency to meddle in the affairs [...]
Global trade tensions send Eurozone PMI to two-year low October 24, 2018 The Eurozone economy grew at the slowest rate for more than two years in October as uncertainty over global trade relations deepened an export-led slump. The purchasing managers index for the eurozone fell to 52.7 this month, down from 54.1 in September, hitting a 25-month low. Read more: EU seeks to cool down Italy tensions as [...]
A ray of light in these dark days: Living standards have risen far more than we think October 24, 2018 The media seems full of gloom at the moment. Chaos over Brexit, Saudi Arabia, potential nuclear escalation between the US and Russia – you name it, people are worried about it. A ray of light is shone – an apt phrase as you will see – by the work of Bill Nordhaus, a Yale economist [...]
This Budget, I’m dreaming of a tax system fit for the future October 24, 2018 The announcement that the Autumn Budget would take place in October – almost a month earlier than we’ve become accustomed to – surprised a fair few people. It probably shouldn’t have. Philip Hammond understandably wants his finance bill passed safely through the Commons without it getting caught in the crosshairs of ongoing Brexit negotiations and the [...]
With one person escaping extreme poverty every second, young people must be shown the arguments in favour of capitalism October 23, 2018 The World Bank released some seemingly depressing news last week: nearly half the global population live on less than $5.50 a day. That means that, for all the economic growth we have enjoyed in recent decades, 3.4bn people continue to struggle to meet basic needs. Also last week, you may have caught an old Teen [...]
FTSE 100 falls to seven-month low amid Europe-wide sell-off of stocks October 23, 2018 The FTSE 100 fell to a seven-month low this morning as a Europe-wide sell-off of stocks saw shares drop 1.1 per cent. The index opened below the 7,000 mark today as investors were rattled by world events including Italy’s expansionary budget, Brexit, Saudi oil prices and a poor run of third quarter results this morning. It [...]
Manufacturing orders fall at fastest pace in three years as Brexit uncertainty bites October 23, 2018 British manufacturing orders fell at the fastest pace since 2015 in the third quarter as uncertainty over a Brexit deal continued, according to the latest statistics from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The organisation said the “sobering” set of figures required “immediate action at home and abroad” as it revealed that a net 6 [...]