Driverless cars’ arrival looks set to shake up the automotive, oil and tech sectors December 16, 2016 The energy markets are starting to recover from their multi-year swoon, but there may be a bigger change ahead. It’s starting to look like the rise of self-driving vehicles is not only inevitable, but that it will be here sooner than many would have thought possible. That will likely upend the oil markets in ways [...]
It’d be a Christmas miracle if the chancellor delivered on these three festive reforms December 16, 2016 While Philip Hammond hasn’t been chancellor for long, he has already adopted George Osborne’s style of giveaways – the gifts aren’t simply bought by taxpayers, but are often funded by taxpayer money that hasn’t been raised yet. Of course, this kind of gift-giving rarely places the goods in the hands of the people who need [...]
Optimism about the UK economy drove business confidence up for November December 16, 2016 Business confidence increased in November, as political turbulence around the Brexit vote has contributed to a volatile climate for companies, according to a new survey. UK businesses saw a two-point increase to 111.1 in November, according to an index compiled by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). A score of above [...]
Euro reaches lowest level against dollar since 2003 December 15, 2016 THE EURO hit its lowest point since the start of 2003 against the dollar yesterday as the Federal Reserve’s plans for tightening monetary policy added further momentum to the greenback’s surge since the election of Donald Trump as US President. The euro/dollar spot exchange rate hit a low of $1.0367 in afternoon trading before recovering [...]
Oil prices: Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate prices rise as markets adjust to US interest rate hike and dollar rally December 15, 2016 Oil markets stabilised today after sharp falls before and after yesterday's decision to raise US interest rates from 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 0.7 per cent to $54.29 a barrel, while US sweet crude rose 0.3 per cent to $51.17. On Monday, Brent crude hit a temporary [...]
It’s unanimous: Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold at 0.25 per cent December 15, 2016 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has unanimously voted to hold interest rates at 0.25 per cent. However, the MPC warned a slowdown in growth was still likely following the Brexit vote, although it added inflation will not rise as much as it had forecast. In minutes of its December meeting, it added [...]
FTSE 100 miners Fresnillo, Randgold Resources and Polymetal fall as gold prices slump to 10-month low December 15, 2016 Shares in FTSE 100 gold miners were battered this morning as prices of the yellow stuff fell to a 10-month low. A dollar rally pushed spot gold prices down 1.23 per cent to $1,128.85 an ounce this morning, after the US Federal Reserve yesterday raised US interest rates from 0.5 to 0.75 per cent and [...]
Chinese mega cities increase dominance in Schroders Global Cities 30 index December 15, 2016 | City Talk Fund manager Hugo Machin explains the trends behind the latest moves in the Schroders Global Cities index Chinese cities had a strong showing in the first Schroders Global Cities 30 index, launched in the summer. In the first update to the index, that dominance has only increased. Four of the top five spots are now [...]
Shell finance chief Simon Henry to leave after 30 years with the oil major December 15, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell announced today that finance chief Simon Henry will step down in March 2017, to be replaced by Jessica Uhl. Henry – who was appointed to the Lloyds Bank board in 2014 – has been with Shell for over 30 years, and has been chief financial officer for seven. "I have been privileged to [...]
Britain’s services trade can flourish outside the EU Single Market December 15, 2016 Negotiating sensible agreements on services trade with the EU, WTO and third countries may not be as difficult as many are suggesting. There are a number of options negotiators can pursue which would go beyond the existing arrangements and further liberalise services trade to Britain’s economic advantage. First, the issue of “passporting” will need to be [...]