Crypto crash could threaten global financial stability, ECB warns May 24, 2022 A continued sell-off frenzy in crypto could threaten the stability of global financial markets, the European Central Bank has warned today.
UK economic headwinds cast shadow over Sunak’s cost of living support package May 24, 2022 A slowing UK economy will heap more pressure on the country’s finances, casting doubt over the scale of support chancellor Rishi Sunak will launch to help households through the cost of living crunch. That’s according to economists’ assessments of fresh borrowing figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A combination of rising [...]
Geopolitical shock: regime change in inflation and monetary policy May 24, 2022 | City Talk Globalisation is besieged on multiple fronts. Two years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and amid growing geopolitical unrest, the decades-long disinflationary headwind has reversed. Many multinationals have taken steps to address the disruptions to their ultimately brittle global value chains. These companies are re-orienting to prioritise availability over cost-optimisation. This process manifests in [...]
London is back on the global property radar as foreign home buyers shrug off Brexit and stamp duty changes May 24, 2022 International buyers are returning to the London property market after three consecutive years of declining market activity, brought about by Brexit, changes to stamp duty and, of course, the pandemic. Since last year, international interest has started to return to the capital, with transactions climbing by 0.6 per cent. At the same time, the market [...]
Wage pressures to persist amid tight jobs market May 24, 2022 Wage pressures emanating from the jobs market are set to persist in a sign elevated inflation may stay around for longer, reveals fresh research published today. Just over 27 per cent of workers in the UK intend to demand a pay rise from their employer over the next year, according to consultancy PwC. Brits, especially [...]
UK dividends slump to $14.7bn in first quarter after slowdown in special payouts May 24, 2022 UK dividends slumped in the first quarter of the year after a slowdown in frothy one-off payouts that caused an $18.8bn spike between January and March last year.
Total chaos at Shell’s AGM as 70+ activists bring meeting to complete standstill with CEO fleeing the building May 24, 2022 Shell CEO Ben van Beurden has left the oil major’s annual general meeting, after a battalion of protestors brought proceedings to a complete standstill for over 40 minutes. A battalion of around 70 environmental protestors entered Methodist Hall this morning, chanting “Shell must fall!”, as the Anglo-Dutch oil firm launched its AGM. The protestors, who [...]
Strong B&Q earnings rebuild investors’ risk appetite to kick off week May 23, 2022 Investors picked up their risk appetite again during the opening trading day of the week as B&Q owner Kingfisher helped mend market sentiment. London’s premier FTSE 100 index jumped 1.67 per cent to 7,513.44 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 1.56 [...]
Bailey bats away claims Bank of England has fuelled inflation May 23, 2022 Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey today snapped back at criticism he and the central bank’s committee of rate setters have fuelled inflation in the UK. The governor dismissed accusations the Bank has contributed to the current living cost spike by over-flooding the UK economy with money during the Covid-19 crisis. “What I [...]
What does a weaker yen mean for investors in Japan? May 23, 2022 | City Talk Changing economic circumstances could alter the market impacts of currency weakness explain experts Masaki Taketsume, George Brown and Robbie Boukhoufane. It’s a been a difficult first third of 2022 for markets generally, which is perhaps unsurprising given the many sources of uncertainty and discord in the world. A very sharp depreciation in the value of [...]