No fireworks: Bank of England and Federal Reserve set to hold interest rates next week January 27, 2017 With both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve set to meet it’s a big week for monetary policy, but don’t expect fireworks, economists say. Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers sparked the financial crisis, the top 50 central banks have cut rates over 700 times, according to JP Morgan. While Brexit and the [...]
Donald Trump’s wall prompts investor stampede for infrastructure January 27, 2017 Donald Trump’s promises to build a massive wall with Mexico as well as to revive oil pipelines have prompted an investor rush to gain exposure to infrastructure assets. Inflows into funds focused on investments in the infrastructure sector surged in the last week, according to data provider EPFR. On assuming the US presidency, Trump signed [...]
Fabulous Brexit, Chinese implosion: The feasible scenarios markets are ignoring January 27, 2017 The exquisite unpredictability of markets was on full parade in 2016, and investors are still breathless. Very few believed populist anger would lead to a Brexit or a President Trump, or that a crashing oil market would be rescued by a deal underpinned by Saudi altruism towards Iran. Indeed, markets are replete with occurrences which [...]
China’s debt mountain is unlikely to spoil its New Year January 27, 2017 As China prepares to ring in the year of the Fire Rooster this weekend, its central bank has ordered lenders to strictly control the amount of loans issued in the first quarter of 2017 – an effort to cut the country’s ballooning levels of debt. China’s debt pile has burgeoned from 150 per cent in [...]
US President Donald Trump says he’ll negotiate trade deal with the UK himself January 27, 2017 US President Donald Trump says he will personally discuss the framework for a post-Brexit trade deal with Prime Minister Theresa May today, having failed to appoint a commerce secretary since moving into the White House. “I’m meeting with the PM tomorrow but I don’t have my commerce secretary and they wanna talk trade – so I’ll [...]
EU Robin Hood financial transactions tax is “within reach” if politicians can agree says diplomat January 26, 2017 A financial transactions tax – also known as a Robin Hood tax – on trades is “within reach” according to the EU’s commissioner on tax, which could represent a barrier to the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc. The original proposal was for a 0.1 per cent tax on trades in shares and bonds [...]
Weaker retail sales suggest the UK’s consumer spending engine could stall January 26, 2017 Retail sales fell in January in the UK, surprising analysts and adding to suspicions the consumer spending engine driving Britain’s growth may be about to sputter. Almost a third of retailers surveyed report a decline in sales volumes in January, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey. While the decline comes [...]
Spain unemployment falls to lowest since 2009 January 26, 2017 Unemployment in Spain has fallen to its lowest point since 2009, as the economy continues its slow recovery. The jobless rate fell to 18.63 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, capping a fall in unemployment of more than two percentage points over the year, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE). This [...]
UK economy sees no Brexit downturn with two per cent growth in 2016 January 26, 2017 The UK ended 2016 on a high as economic growth in the last three months of the year showed little sign of a hit in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, beating economists’ expectations. This means the UK economy grew by two per cent [...]
I can’t help but worry about the potential for the mother of all house price crashes January 26, 2017 The year opened with alarming newspaper headlines in The Daily Telegraph on the risk of a global property price crash. How worried should we be in the UK? The ratio of house prices to incomes in the UK is close to the all-time high it reached before the financial crisis. If that ratio mean reverts over [...]