We’re all in the dark when it comes to her economic policies – but here are five conjectures July 14, 2016 This is one of those articles I could live to regret. Speculating on the future economic policies of a Prime Minister in power for less than a day is either bold, reckless or both. We’re all in the dark, a bit like Ken Clarke, who said last week that he only knew in detail what [...]
Over to you, Carney – our MPC has voted to cut rates July 14, 2016 Mark Carney will reveal today whether the Bank of England will cut interest rates for the first time since March 2009, following the public’s surprise decision to vote for Brexit at the end of last month. Markets have priced in an 80 per cent chance of a cut to the main bank rate, which currently stands [...]
Economists for Brexit call for the government to unilaterally dismantle all trade tariff barriers July 13, 2016 A renegade group of pro-Brexit economists have laid out their plans for how the UK should navigate the instability caused by the UK leaving the European Union. They claim UK GDP could grow by 2.3 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2017 if the government follows their advice to unilaterally dismantle all [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 dips as pre-BoE jitters seize European markets July 13, 2016 The FTSE 100 has dialled back its earlier gains to skid at the close this evening. The blue-chip index finished down just a touch at 6,670.40, off by 10 points – or 0.15 per cent. It's the second flat close on the bounce for the FTSE 100 after ending yesterday's session unchanged. It had earlier in today's session climbed to 6,717.17. The [...]
Is foreign secretary Philip Hammond set to be named the UK’s new chancellor? July 13, 2016 Foreign secretary Philip Hammond is emerging as a frontrunner to become the new chancellor in Theresa May's first cabinet. May is expected to name her top team in the coming days, and Hammond has been widely named as the likely inheritor of one of the government's most senior roles. According to ITV political editor Robert Peston, Hammond [...]
Copper charges through $5,000 mark ahead of Bank of England rate decision tomorrow July 13, 2016 Expectations for some long-awaited action over at the Bank of England helped copper surge past $5,000 per tonne today. Copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped as high as $5,032 a tonne, its strongest since 29 April, before falling back to $4,869 in mid-afternoon trading. Read more: Say what? Gold isn't a good hedge against economic crashes, [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 13, 2016 US stock markets are at a record high, Opec production is at its highest level in eight years, and China's trade surplus narrowed. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing up ahead of the open, though are not looking quite as rosy as in recent sessions. The S&P [...]
Japan has axed its GDP growth forecast for 2016 July 13, 2016 The Japanese economy is going to grow at a far slower pace than was previously thought this year, and no, it's not because everybody in the country is too busy playing Nintendo's Pokemon Go to get anything else done. The Japanese Cabinet Office has reduced its forecast to 0.9 per cent, down from the 1.7 per cent that was [...]
Investors are prepared to take sub-zero yields in order to keep their money in safe haven German 10-year bunds July 13, 2016 Germany is getting ready to sell €5bn (£4.2bn) worth of 10-year bonds with a zero per cent coupon for the first time. Yields on the German bund have been dropping for weeks – and are now firmly in negative territory, hitting a record low of minus 0.2 per cent last week, which is why a negative yield [...]
Asian markets ride wave of relief towards 2016 peak July 13, 2016 Soothed investor nerves helped Asian shares climb towards a 2016 high today. It came as strong US growth prospects, as well as the appointment of a new prime minister in Britain, dampened worries about the Brexit vote. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swelled as much as 0.4 per cent to 427.83 points, just [...]