Despite the comfort from greater political stability, could sterling still reach parity against the US dollar? July 18, 2016 Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, says Yes. Sterling received a pummelling in June, with prices crashing to 31-year lows against the dollar following the shock Brexit victory. Financial markets were rattled, and it was obvious that the Brexit outcome was severely underpriced, with even the bookkeepers being completely on the wrong side of the [...]
Beware May’s “industrial strategy”: Brexit Britain must be market-orientated July 18, 2016 It all seemed to be going so well. Our new Prime Minister had made some bold and imaginative appointments in assembling her first cabinet. This wasn’t a lazy half-hearted reshuffle, Theresa May was imposing her own stamp on government. Rather than going for continuity, she was ruthless in personnel changes. Initially, it started to look [...]
The grand edifice of President Erdogan’s regime is more fragile than ever July 18, 2016 The short-term consequences of the weekend’s stunning failed coup attempt in Turkey seem clear enough. In typical Putin mini-me fashion, surviving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s position is strengthened, with him calling the coup “a gift from God”, allowing him to energetically purge the disloyal army of both Gulenist and Kemalist factions. In his defiant speech from [...]
This is what should happen to data protection rules in a post-Brexit world July 15, 2016 The decision of UK voters to leave the EU has thrown up numerous questions for companies around compliance with EU regulation. Data protection is no exception. Put simply, Brexit complicates the compliance duties of companies that deal with UK/EU data, whether customer, consumer, marketing, sales, employee, business partner or otherwise. There may also be a [...]
Let’s not be spoilsports and crush Pokemon Go July 15, 2016 It was a story that gripped the nation for weeks. Unexpected twists and turns meant no one was sure what would happen next. But yesterday, after what seemed like an inordinately long wait, Britons were rewarded for their patience. No, it was nothing to do with Theresa May: Pokemon Go finally launched in the UK. The game, [...]
As Theresa May unveils a near unrecognisable cabinet, is this new government good news for the City? July 15, 2016 James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. It is often said that what business wants is certainty. Well, that is going to be in short supply for a while, so the next best thing is going to be a team of negotiators that both understands what financiers need and what price to [...]
Brexit: It’s early days, but UK business has been getting on with it July 15, 2016 It is less than three weeks since the British people voted to leave the EU. In that time, much of the media response has been verging on hysterical. The political establishment, City and even bookmakers simply did not see Leave coming. Figures who were top of their game a month ago have fallen on their swords: [...]
From an optimistic Remainer: It’s not impossible to see how we can make a go of Brexit. Here are two ideas July 15, 2016 As a staunch Remainer, I was hugely disappointed by the Brexit vote. But, what’s done can’t be changed. What is the best way to respond to it? It’s hugely tempting to accuse the Brexiteers of being racist or stupid. We share with glee how some admit that they were conned by Nigel Farage and would have voted [...]
The Bank was right to hold rates – even a cut in August would be a shot in the dark July 15, 2016 Three weeks on from a dramatic referendum result, we have little hard information about how the economy is responding. There have been indications that business confidence and consumer confidence have been affected by the shock outcome. But there has also been a lot of political turbulence, and it is understandable that this has affected the consumer [...]
New chancellor Philip Hammond must not treat pensions like a political football July 14, 2016 As chancellor, George Osborne presided over one of the most radical periods of reform for pensions. The direction of pension policy was tightly controlled by Treasury. Very few people saw it coming when the chancellor announced in his March 2014 budget speech that he would give ‘freedom and choice for all’ in how people take [...]