City A.M. Awards 2016: Our business heroes make the most of the madness November 11, 2016 Businesses hate uncertainty, so we’re told. The lobby groups that represent UK plc constantly remind us of the benefits of a calm economic and political environment, with benign conditions nurturing growth and prosperity. It’s a nice thought, and an understandable sentiment. But the reality is that life is never straightforward, and some of the business [...]
Trumped up: US stockmarkets are boosted by the prospect of a Trump administration November 10, 2016 US stock markets today hit an all-time high on the hope that Trumponomics will give businesses a much-needed boost. The Dow Jones hit 18,873.66 during trading, the highest level ever recorded. In particular, banks and healthcare stocks were buoyed on expectations that President-elect Donald Trump will remove much of the red tape that shackles their profitability. [...]
Editor’s notes: Does Trump’s victory provide opportunities for the UK? Maybe November 10, 2016 One benefit of Trump’s shock victory is that it makes the Brexit vote look like a council by-election in comparison. The world is now used to the idea that over the next two years the UK will slip the surly bonds of Brussels, and although the full details of that plan aren’t fully understood it’s the [...]
Donald Trump’s ambiguous trade policy is a massive opportunity for Britain to catalyse the creation of a new Prosperity Zone November 10, 2016 Much ink has been expended on what a Donald Trump presidency will mean for trade. He has promised at various times in his campaign to slap 45 per cent tariffs on China and Mexico, to pull the US out of Nafta and the WTO, and has railed against the TransPacific Partnership. Naturally many people have assumed [...]
Trumpism will clash with economic reality November 10, 2016 Yesterday marked the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It also heralded the ascendancy to the world’s most powerful office of a man whose most famous campaign pledge is to construct a massive wall along the length of America’s southern border. “We’re going to build it,” declared Trump, “and Mexico’s going to [...]
Anti-free trader Donald Trump is on a collision course with economic reality November 9, 2016 US presidential elections have always been imbued with protectionist rhetoric, most notably in the Democratic party primaries. What’s different in 2016 is the scale of it and the fact that it comes from the other side of the political aisle. The election of Donald Trump pitches political rhetoric against economic history. Those who know their [...]
Bank of America shaves outlook for US GDP next year November 9, 2016 One of the US' major banks has today revised down its economic outlook for 2017 following Donald Trump's surprise triumph in the US presidential elections. In a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, the bank stated that, thanks partly to the large levels of uncertainty surrounding the new president-elect's policies, it was knocking 0.5 of [...]
The Bank of England has revealed the startups in its fintech accelerator November 9, 2016 The Bank of England has lifted the lid on its groundbreaking fintech accelerator which launched back in June. Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon on Wednesday, the central bank's chief operating officer Charlotte Hogg said it had been focused on three key areas: "data analytics, information security, and some work exploring distributed ledgers." "Just over [...]
Reducing taxes, ending trade deals, squaring up to China and blocking mega-deals: Do Donald Trump’s policies add up? November 9, 2016 Casual observers of the US presidential election campaign may be surprised to learn that Donald Trump’s policy plans extend beyond building a wall across the Mexican border and banning Muslim people from entering the US. In fact, the Republican has set out plans for change across 15 policy areas, including foreign policy, national defence, infrastructure, cybersecurity and regulations. [...]
Investment by businesses is expected to be broadly stable or slightly lower over the next year, according to BoE agents (they’re not secret agents though) November 9, 2016 Business investment by UK firms is expected to slow over the next 12 months – but not by a lot. The Bank of England said a survey carried out by its regional agents pointed to broadly stable or slightly lower investment spending over the coming year. Uncertainty around future demand for goods and trading arrangements as the UK [...]