What now? The UK and the EU Single Market June 29, 2016 Now the UK has voted to leave the European Union, the focus on what kind of relationship we should forge with the trading bloc has taken on a new intensity. We are no longer talking hypothetically and the debate over whether we should have “access to” or be “in” the Single Market is more than semantic. [...]
It’s premature to assume Britain will plunge into recession June 29, 2016 As the dust settles on last week’s referendum, pretty much every verdict I have heard or read agrees that the UK economy faces a period of contraction and the market has moved very quickly to price that scenario in. At first glance, this case is persuasive. There has been clear evidence of deferred investment in [...]
Politicians in US, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea push for new UK trade deals after Brexit June 29, 2016 Politicians in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea are keen to secure new trade deals with the UK as it prepares to leave the European Union. In the US, speaker of the house Paul Ryan has said: “We need to emphasise that they are our indispensable ally, we have a special relationship, and [...]
Despite market turmoil, analysts say a liberal Brexit could be a boon for UK economy June 29, 2016 The financial markets have over-reacted to the UK's vote to leave the EU because those buying-and-selling cannot remember the positive effect of leaving the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) in 1992, an asset manager has said. In an upbeat outlook on how well the UK can perform now it has begun the process of severing ties [...]
Borrowing reached an 11-year high before the EU referendum June 29, 2016 Lending to British households grew at its fastest pace in a decade in the run up to the EU referendum, new figures from the Bank of England have shown. Consumer credit – a measure of loans and credit card debt, but not mortgages – grew by 9.9 per cent in the year to May, the fastest [...]
City A.M. podcast: After the Brexit vote, what next for the UK economy? June 29, 2016 The die has been cast, and the UK has voted in favour of Brexit. What next for politicians? In a special edition of City AM's podcast, City A.M. digital editor Emma Haslett is joined in the studio by editor Christian May, and guests Jimmy McLoughlin, head of external affairs at the Institute of Directors and [...]
Over 1,000 anti-Brexit protesters stage rally outside parliament June 28, 2016 Over 1,000 people turned up outside parliament today to protest against Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Many chanted "there's no plan" and held up signs condemning former London mayor and Leave champion Boris Johnson who is the bookies' favourite to be Britain's next Prime Minister. Last Friday, London voted to remain in the EU in the referendum while 52 [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 climbs out of the Brexit bloodbath after major losses in recent sessions June 28, 2016 The FTSE 100 bounced back today, as investors bought back into a market that had been heavily sold off in previous sessions. Just nine stocks finished in negative territory, pushing the blue-chip index up by 2.6 per cent to 6,140.39 points. Falls of over five per cent in the last two sessions had wiped nearly £100bn in value of from company market capitalisations. Insurers [...]
Q&A: Should we worry about the UK losing its AAA credit rating? June 28, 2016 The UK suffered the embarrassment of a downgrade to its credit rating from not just one, but two of the leading agencies yesterday. Standard and Poor's (S&P) stripped the UK government of its gold standard triple-A rating, while Fitch also knocked a notch from its rating. Treasury debt is now graded as double-A, the third [...]
US GDP revised up, but it’s still the slowest growth in a year June 28, 2016 Growth in the US economy has been revised up on the back of strong export and investment numbers. The world's biggest economy grew by 1.1 per cent on an annualised basis in the first quarter of the year – up from the most recent estimate of 0.8 per cent and more than double the very first [...]