High street remains in hedge funds’ sights as bets against the consumer sector rise in final quarter January 6, 2019 Hedge funds continued to turn the screws on high street retailers, restaurants and makers of consumer goods at the end of last year, with short positions in the sector increasing 20 per cent. The rise in bets against the industry came in the final three months of the year, and means nearly one-third of total [...]
Theresa May urges MPs to back her Brexit deal as crunch vote approaches January 6, 2019 Theresa May has issued another plea to MPs to back her Brexit deal, saying it is the only way to honour the result of the referendum and protect jobs. MPs will return to parliament tomorrow where they will be preparing for the second vote on Brexit, after the first was ceremoniously pulled by May in the [...]
‘No way’ DUP will back May’s Brexit deal, says senior party member January 4, 2019 A senior DUP member has said there is “no way” his party will back Theresa May’s Brexit deal due to concerns over the backstop agreement. Sammy Wilson, who is Brexit spokesperson for the DUP, said he was “more alarmed” than ever about the impact the deal would have on Northern Ireland. “It’s not just because of [...]
Government finds 150 lorries to test Dover crossing congestion in case of no-deal Brexit January 4, 2019 Operation Brock, the system designed to minimise disruption at the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit, will be tested for the first time next week. A total of 150 HGV lorries will trial the route from Manston Airport to Dover as part of the Department for Transport’s contingency planning for the UK’s departure from [...]
Brexit in 2019: The only certainty is uncertainty January 4, 2019 Predicting what will happen in the world of politics is a notoriously difficult task at the best of times, but in the current all-bets-are-off climate, surely only a fool would give it a go. City A.M.’s Owen Bennett is that fool, and here are his tips for what to look out for. Brexit May's Brexit [...]
Eurozone inflation falls to its lowest rate in eight months as business output crashes January 4, 2019 A fall in oil prices saw eurozone inflation crash to an eight-month low in December as business activity fell to a four-year low, it emerged today. Inflation for the 19-country area stood at 1.6 per cent in the last month of 2018, down from 1.9 per cent in November and the lowest recorded since April, [...]
Lending growth slows as consumers remain cautious ahead of Brexit January 4, 2019 Consumer lending growth dropped to its slowest rate in more than three years in November, according to new data from the Bank of England (BoE). The annual growth rate for consumer credit slowed to 7.1 per cent in November, reflecting weaker flows of new lending, the BoE said. The growth rate was the slowest since [...]
Mortgage approvals decline in November as Brexit uncertainty impacts housing market January 4, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals fell to a seven-month low in November as Brexit concerns continued to rattle the housing market. Mortgage approvals fell to 63,728 in November, down from 66,709 the previous month, according to new figures from the Bank of England (BoE) released today. Mortgage lending rose by £3.5bn in the same month, lower than the [...]
Brexit fears see job creation fall to 29-month low January 4, 2019 Brexit uncertainty weighed on the UK’s services sector at the end of 2018 as it marked the close of the year with some of its weakest growth in recent times, while job creation fell to a 29-month low. The services sector posted a 51.2 score for December in the closely-followed IHS Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ [...]
Poll: Most Tories would back a no-deal Brexit rather than support Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement January 4, 2019 More than half of Tory party members prefer a no-deal Brexit over Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, a new poll today suggests. Around 57 per cent of Conservatives would support leaving the EU with no agreement compared to just 23 per cent prepared to back the Prime Minister’s vision. The Yougov poll, funded by the Economic and [...]