UK inflation rises, adding to pressure on rates October 20, 2017 | City Talk There are two key domestic issues this week for UK financial markets. One is the latest inflation news and the implications for interest rates. The second is the ongoing Brexit discussions and what might the latest phase imply for settling. Let's focus here on the inflation news. This week's data release showed that inflation rose [...]
The impact of ‘quantitative tightening’ explained in 60 seconds October 19, 2017 | City Talk Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed), has announced the Fed is going to introduce a new policy called quantitative tightening (QT). This is very different from quantitative easing (QE). QE was when the Fed created brand new money (around $3.5 trillion) to go and buy financial assets, principally government bonds, to suppress interest [...]
Black Monday 30 years on: how big was the crash and how fast did markets recover? October 17, 2017 | City Talk On 19 October 1987 global stock markets came crashing down amid worries about a slowing global economy and high stock valuations. The concerns were compounded by a computer glitch. In the space of 24 hours stock markets in Asia, Europe and the US suffered falls of up to 23%. It was the biggest crash in [...]
Amazon’s hunt for HQ2 offers a blueprint for the perfect global city October 16, 2017 | City Talk The Schroders Global Cities blog aims to identify the most investible cities and has compiled a Global Cities Top 30 Index. Here blogger Ryan Bennett examines Amazon's plans to find the perfect global city. In September Amazon announced plans to open “Amazon HQ2”, a second company headquarters in the US or Canada. Amazon expects to [...]
How the UK can plug the productivity gap October 13, 2017 | City Talk Addressing the UK’s low productivity is more important than ever and whilst there is no magical solution to the problem, we can make improvements, says Gerard Lyons. Productivity helps determine a country's long-term performance. It measures output per person or per hour worked. Over time, high productive economies have higher output and living standards. Low [...]
Will UK interest rates rise next month? October 11, 2017 | City Talk Here we go again … the Bank of England has dropped heavy hints on interest rates. It could order an increase next month, according to the latest market pricing. Many are puzzled with the sudden change in communication given the fragile state of the economy and the uncertainty created by Brexit negotiations. The Bank, of [...]
Electric shock – finding the winners and losers of the electric revolution October 11, 2017 | City Talk The electric car – as a concept – is almost as old as the internal combustion engine (ICE). The first electric vehicle (EV) is credited, somewhat contentiously, to Scottish chemist Robert Anderson as far back as 1837. Thomas Edison is even rumoured to have explored a cheap electric car with Henry Ford as early as [...]
Three charts that suggest banks are stronger now than before Northern Rock October 10, 2017 | City Talk September marked the 10th anniversary of the moment most people had their first inkling all was not completely well with the global financial system. On 13 September 2007, word began to spread that Northern Rock had asked for emergency funding from the Bank of England in its capacity as "lender of last resort", thus prompting [...]
Profit vs impact: investors choose sustainability for better returns October 9, 2017 | City Talk Sustainable investing has long been regarded as more of a philanthropic pursuit, putting positive impact ahead of making a profit. But a major new study shows investor attitudes may be shifting. The 2017 Schroders Global Investor Study of 22,100 people who invest across 30 countries found the majority of them view sustainable investing as a [...]
iPhones, oil and active investing: seven best investment charts of the month October 6, 2017 | City Talk Taiwan tech tied to iPhone launch If history has taught investors anything, it is that the hype surrounding the latest iPhone launch by Apple usually ends up falling short of expectations. And this extends to the share prices of the many components suppliers involved in the giant’s supply chain too. In Asia, many Taiwanese technology [...]