There can be no winners in a trade war March 8, 2018 | City Talk Today, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council meets to set monetary policy for the Eurozone. But any hopes there may have been among those of a more hawkish persuasion – particularly in Germany – that the ECB might tighten its monthly bond buying programme further have been all but crushed. Despite the Eurozone’s economy [...]
The economic impact of Brexit is just beginning to bite March 7, 2018 | City Talk If you needed any further evidence that Brexit and the uncertainty caused by the continued ambiguity of Britain’s negotiating position is beginning to have an economic impact, look no further than Ellesmere Port. The Vauxhall car factory that has been in operation since the 1960s faces possible closure after Brexit with the potential loss of [...]
Will one of these 26 companies joining Tech City’s Future Fifty become the new Zoopla or Just Eat? March 7, 2018 An AI-driven cybersecurity company, a fashion industry analytics business and a tech-based language teaching company are among the 26 UK startups that have been identified as potential future tech stars. Darktrace, Featurespace and Firefly are among the companies joining companies such as SpitfireAudio, Thread and Superawesome on Tech City’s Future Fifty programme. Future Fifty alumni [...]
Italian coaliation will have as much stability as an elephant on a unicycle March 6, 2018 | City Talk For weeks, the Eurozone has been dogged by political uncertainty in two of the bloc’s largest economies, Germany and Italy. Monday brought a return to type, if not stability, in them both. The week began with the news that Germany’s political limbo was finally over, after members of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) voted in [...]
Britain in La La Land on Brexit March 5, 2018 | City Talk In the past week or so, Toys R Us and Maplin Electronics have gone into administration with the loss of around 5,000 jobs, house price growth has slowed to a crawl, economic growth has been revised down. One of the biggest shocks came from Foxton’s estate agents which announced a huge 65 per cent plunge [...]
Despite the volatility there’s much for US markets to celebrate March 1, 2018 | City Talk There was no escaping reports of US stock market volatility throughout February. Yet oddly, despite Wall Street heading for its first month of losses in nearly a year, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are still not that far off their record highs. Having fallen 10 per cent from the records set on 26 [...]
Fed chair willing to hike rates faster if necessary February 28, 2018 | City Talk On Tuesday, US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s prepared comments to Congress were released ahead of his appearance before the House Financial Services committee. In them he downplayed concerns over recent stock market volatility, claiming dramatic swings do not weigh heavily on his outlook for the economy and maintaining his expectation for further gradual increases [...]
RBS’s return to profit welcome but will taxpayers ever see their £45bn? February 27, 2018 | City Talk On Friday, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported its first annual profit in a decade. The profit was seen as a “really symbolic moment” by the bank’s chief executive, Ross McEwan, and it is significant as the bank is still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer. RBS reported a pre-tax profit of £752m for [...]
Who needs Thorpe Park when you have Brexit? February 26, 2018 | City Talk Up one minute, hands in the air, down the next, faces distorted by politico-economic G-force. Who needs Thorpe Park when you've got Brexit? The roller-coaster ride continued apace last week, with news that the economy grew less than previously thought in the fourth quarter of 2017 delivering the latest stomach-churning dip. In a definite curveball [...]
Focus on quality and value will take care of itself: What matters more than a firm’s valuation February 22, 2018 Recent market volatility may have some investors concerned by falling valuations, but it’s important to focus on the quality of a business, according to one of Britain’s top fund managers. Mark Slater co-founded the specialist UK equity fund management business Slater Investments in 1994. He’s ranked third out of 186 UK equity fund managers over [...]