From Brexit to tariffs, brace yourself for an uncertain 2019 January 3, 2019 Get ready for a 2019 full of uncertainty. On the political scene, headline events range from Brexit to the US-China trade tensions to EU reforms – all coming at a vulnerable stage in the business cycle, with half of US chief financial officers expecting a recession in 2019, and over 80 per cent by 2020. [...]
Global stock markets stumble into New Year as investors spooked by economic fears in China and US January 2, 2019 Stock markets staged a recovery this afternoon after economic fears continued to weigh on both the FTSE and Wall Street into 2019 after they recorded 10-year lows in 2018. The FTSE 100 recovered to close 0.04 per cent down after an initial 1.8 per cent fall, and Wall Street also rallied after tumbling as it opened, spooked [...]
Elizabeth Warren looks to challenge Trump in 2020 race January 1, 2019 US senator Elizabeth Warren has become the first to throw her hat in the ring as the Democratic Party searches for a challenger to run against President Donald Trump in 2020. The liberal firebrand said yesterday she was forming an exploratory committee, the first step along the path to challenge for the party’s nomination. The [...]
Donald Trump set to visit the UK for the second time in May December 31, 2018 US President Donald Trump may visit the UK for a second time in May next year, as part of a rescheduled state visit with Theresa May to coincide with 100 years since the end of the Second World War. Woody Johnson, US ambassador to the UK, told the BBC today that the centenary commemoration "would be [...]
Which stock markets look ‘cheap’ as we head into 2019? December 31, 2018 | City Talk 2018 was a rumbustious year for stock markets, with things really coming to the fore in the latter stages. With investors having grown accustomed to an unusual oasis of calm over recent years, volatility was back with a bang. However, as the dust settles, there is a silver lining for stock market investors. Even before [...]
Juncker tells German newspaper all the EU wants from Britain is ‘clarity’, as meaningful vote on Brexit deal looms next month December 30, 2018 Jean-Claude Juncker has said the European Union is not trying to stop Brexit, and wishes to kickstart discussions of future relations between the two as soon as parliament approves the deal. “It is being insinuated that our aim is to keep the United Kingdom in the EU by all possible means. That is not our [...]
Trump claims China trade deal on the cards after ‘long and very good’ phone call with Xi December 30, 2018 Donald Trump has stoked fresh hopes the United States’ trade war with China is nearing its end, following a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The United States President tweeted: “Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well.” He added the trade deal would [...]
Trump rages in face of government shutdown, threatens to close US southern border unless he gets $5bn funding for Mexico border wall December 28, 2018 Donald Trump has threatened to close the United States’ southern border if Congress refuses to give $5bn in taxpayer funds for his Mexican border wall. Much of the federal government is currently shut down for lack of funding as the dispute over the proposed wall continues to rage, while Congress has been adjourned until next [...]
US government is partially shutdown in border wall standoff December 22, 2018 The US government was partially shutdown at midnight on Friday with President Donald Trump's demands for billions of dollars in funding for a border wall not met. Trump insisted on Friday that if the Senate could not reach a deal with the House regarding the wall then a "very long shutdown" would commence. It began going into [...]
Here are all the predictions I got wrong in 2018 December 21, 2018 I should have given up making predictions in June 2017. Three months earlier, I had spoken at a conference on Brexit and suggested that the best way forward for Theresa May would be to call a snap election and strengthen her negotiating hand. I don’t know how the Prime Minister got word of my advice, [...]