A plague on both your houses: MPs attack EU referendum campaigns May 27, 2016 Both sides in the EU referendum campaign have faced the ire of one of Westminster's most feared MPs, head of the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) Andrew Tyrie, this afternoon. Tyrie, and the bipartisan TSC which includes campaigners on both sides of the debate, has attacked both sides for their shoddy use of statistics and blamed them [...]
Growth revised up as US heads towards rate hike May 27, 2016 The US economy grew a little faster than first thought in the first three months of the year, though expansion was still sluggish at just 0.8 per cent on an annual rate. First estimates earlier this month suggested the economy grew by an even more miserly 0.5 per cent, but the upward revision should provide [...]
EU referendum: Here’s the “positive case” for staying in the EU, according to David Cameron May 27, 2016 When David Cameron set the date for the EU referendum back in February, he told the world you’d never catch him talking down Britain. A few months, some close opinion polls and a two slightly dodgy dossiers of Treasury analysis later, and that “positive case” for staying in the EU seems a distant memory. “Project Fear” [...]
World leaders declare Brexit a “serious risk to growth” May 27, 2016 World leaders have said the possibility of the UK voting to leave the European Union poses one of the most serious risks to growth in the global economy. At the end of the second day of the G7 meeting in Japan, the leaders of the seven big industrial nations, plus the European Union, said: “A [...]
Immigration should be part of Brexit debate May 27, 2016 Back in the early days of the referendum, when (on the pro-Brexit side, at least) different factions were vying for the official designation, we heard a lot about the different tone of the contenders. One group, Leave.EU, was said to be associated more with UKIP and, therefore, would represent a campaign based more on the [...]
Forward misguidance: Unreliable central banks are fuelling market volatility May 27, 2016 At the bottom of every financial prediction or statement, often buried under mountains of small print, is a warning that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. This is true whether we look at stock markets, investment funds or central banks. Since 2013, however, some of the world’s largest financial institutions have been [...]
Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaves the EU, says Osborne May 26, 2016 Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaving the EU shocks markets, a Treasury analysis has found. The Treasury suggests that Brexit will lead to an increase in inflation and financial market turmoil which will, in turn, lead to millions of current and future pensioners being worse off. The study, which is the latest in the string of Treasury [...]
China raises £300m in London as part of first ever overseas RMB bond May 26, 2016 China's finance ministry today issued a three billion yuan (£312m) international bond, its first ever outside China or Hong Kong. The bond, set to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, was managed by HSBC and China's finance ministry. In October last year, China's central bank debuted on London markets with the sale of its first [...]
Business investment dropped in the first quarter of the year due to Brexit and bear markets May 26, 2016 Business investment slipped in the first three months of the year, as market volatility, shattered confidence and the EU referendum were all blamed for firms failing to dip their hands into their pockets. Investment by corporates fell by 0.5 per cent between January and March, following a two per cent contraction at the end of [...]
The cost of hedging against a swing in the value of the pound just hit a seven-year high May 26, 2016 The price of hedging against volatility on the currency markets spiked today, as traders become increasing nervous with just four weeks to go until the EU referendum. The cost of insuring against swings on the value of the pound, as measured by one-month options for swapping sterling into US dollars hit a seven-year high today. [...]