Don’t hold your breath for an easy fix to the US-China trade spat February 13, 2019 Towards the end of last year, my investment manager sent out a note predicting that the US-China trade spat would be resolved and that markets would rise as a result. I responded by saying that it was unlikely to happen, and that I personally preferred an investment portfolio that was very underweight in companies whose [...]
DEBATE: Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? February 13, 2019 Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First, says YES. Theresa May’s primary goal must be to avoid leaving the EU with no deal. That means that the government must stop behaving as if it has a rock-solid parliamentary majority, and [...]
Looking out for the next financial crisis? Keep an eye on spiralling debt February 13, 2019 Concerns are growing that another financial crisis is imminent. No less important a figure than Kenneth Rogoff wrote last week that “the next major financial crisis may come sooner than you think”. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the IMF, shot to fame with his 2008 book This Time Is Different, co-authored with his Harvard [...]
Government blocks Cuadrilla from fracking at second site in Lancashire February 12, 2019 British fracking was dealt another blow today as the government blocked Cuadrilla’s attempts to open a new drilling site in Lancashire. Local government secretary James Brokenshire said he would not overturn the local council’s decision to refuse planning permission at the Roseacre Wood site. Read more: Cuadrilla's request for earthquake review falls on deaf ears [...]
President Trump to meet Xi ‘very soon’ as markets hope for end to US-China trade war, Conway says February 12, 2019 President Donald Trump wants to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon in an effort to end the trade war that has raged between the US and China, according to an adviser. Kellyanne Conway, previously Trump's campaign manager and now counsellor to the White House, told Fox earlier this week that Trump “wants to meet with [...]
US market braces itself for US-China trade talks February 12, 2019 | City Talk This week marks a resumption of trade talks between China and the US, so expect to see movement on the US equity markets as the headlines hit. Preliminary talks began on Monday and saw the US team fly to Beijing to try and close the gap – and tension – between the two nations when [...]
Carney: Brexit could be the ‘acid test’ for a new global order and agreement must be reached February 12, 2019 Britain’s departure from the EU could be the “acid test” for a new global order, Mark Carney said today as he urged politicians to find a Brexit solution in the coming weeks. The Bank of England governor said Brexit had global implications and its outcome could determine whether international cooperation could exist alongside rising protectionism. [...]
The UK’s fintech sector hits record level of investment as startups turn into scale-ups February 12, 2019 Investment into the UK's blossoming fintech sector broke records last year, as the country's startups reached a new stage in their growth journey. Venture capital and private equity investment in British fintech rose to an all-time high of $3.3bn (£2.6bn), up 18 per cent compared to 2017's levels, according to data published today by Innovate Finance. [...]
MPs call for government to scrap ‘flawed’ inflation measure used to calculate rail fares and phone bills February 12, 2019 MPs have ramped up pressure on the government to fix errors in the “flawed” inflation measure used to calculate rail fares and mobile phone bills. The retail price index (RPI) lost its status as a national statistic in 2013 but, despite being branded a “very poor measure” by the Office for National Statistics, it is [...]
Should investors be worried about a EU turn in the Eurozone’s economic prospects? February 12, 2019 As the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany usually acts as a bellwether for the rest of the bloc. So the European Commission’s decision to downgrade the country’s growth forecasts last Thursday is a worrying sign for the other euro nations. Expectations for GDP growth in Germany were cut to 1.1 per cent for 2019, down from the [...]