US-China trade war: Return of talks pushes up Asian markets September 5, 2019 Asian stocks rallied overnight after the US and China announced that trade talks were back on the table, as investors hoped for a thawing of tensions between the two superpowers. China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 1.1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.1 per cent and its Topix index rose 1.8 per cent. Hong Kong’s [...]
Sajid Javid’s spending plans raise eyebrows at think tanks and business bodies September 4, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid today announced he would “turn the page on austerity” with the biggest increase in government spending for 15 years. Read more: Sajid Javid proclaims the ‘end of austerity’ in spending round In his first major announcement after taking the helm of the UK economy, Javid turned his back on the approach of [...]
BoE’s Mark Carney says UK now better prepared for no-deal Brexit September 4, 2019 A worst-case scenario Brexit would now have a less severe effect on the economy than previously thought, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said, although it would still take a big chunk out of UK growth. Read more: Sterling surges above $1.22 as MPs rip up Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy This is “a direct [...]
Chancellor Sajid Javid proclaims ‘end of austerity’ in spending round September 4, 2019 Sajid Javid has proclaimed the “end of austerity” with a new spending round that protects every government department, with an additional £2bn to spend on Brexit planning. The chancellor said he would “turn the page on austerity”, tipping the country to move from “a decade of recovery to a decade of renewal”. Read more: Javid [...]
Sterling surges above $1.22 after MPs rip up Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy September 4, 2019 The pound hit $1.22 against the dollar as it continued to rise after MPs defeated Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy in Parliament last night. Sterling hit $1.22 by lunchtime, helped by poor US manufacturing data, before falling back slightly. The pound is now hovering around $1.293, an increase of 0.89 per cent. Read more: [...]
August was awful for stocks, but September could be worse September 4, 2019 | City Talk Trade tensions caused havoc for global stocks, making August only the second month of 2019 where the market closed lower. But September traditions could mean that more pain is still to come. Traditionally, September is a bad month for stocks. Starting in 1937, the S&P 500 and Dow have closed the month 1 per cent lower on [...]
Economic theory can offer a lesson to struggling football clubs September 4, 2019 The expulsion of Bury FC from the English Football League last week continues to generate a huge amount of sound and fury. Regardless of the apparently dodgy nature of some of Bury’s transactions, the simple fact is that the club overspent massively in order to gain promotion from League Two last season. The surge in [...]
Chancellor announces extra £2bn Brexit funding during Westminster chaos September 3, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid will announce a further £2bn to be spent on Brexit when he lays out government funding for the next year tomorrow, taking the total spent on Brexit planning to £8bn. Read more: Rebel numbers creep up ahead of critical Brexit vote The new money is to be spent in the year after [...]
Marks and Spencer set to be ejected from FTSE 100 for first time in 35 years September 3, 2019 Marks & Spencer is set to lose its place in the FTSE 100 list of the UK’s biggest companies tomorrow after 35 years, ending its long-held membership as one of 28 original firms. Read more: Marks and Spencer to shut seven stores for final time in restructuring The troubled retailer will drop down to the [...]
Sterling rebounds as traders hope for block to no-deal Brexit September 3, 2019 The pound has rebounded this afternoon as traders hope for a no-deal Brexit to be avoided in a parliamentary showdown and weak US data drags on the dollar. Read more: Brexit: Tory MP Phillip Lee defects to Lib Dems during Boris Johnson speech Sterling this morning fell to lows not seen since the mid-1980s, if [...]