Mini budget drama: UK banks face wave of ‘exotic’ forex derivatives claims after collapse of Pound December 15, 2022 Legal disputes between banks and their business customers are expected following the collapse in the value of sterling against the U.S. Dollar and the volatility of other currencies. The dramatic volatility of currencies over the last few months will have led to many businesses facing substantial losses from complex Forex derivatives contracts they had entered [...]
Bank of England calls for tighter rules on LDI market after mini-budget chaos December 13, 2022 Tighter oversight of the pensions industry is needed to ensure it can “withstand severe but plausible market moves” similar in size to those seen in the aftermath of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget in September, the Bank of England said today. The recommendation from the Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) has been sparked by concerns over [...]
‘Carried away’: Kwasi Kwarteng admits Truss government ‘blew it’ over mini-budget December 10, 2022 Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted that Liz Truss’s government “blew it” when it came to the economic reforms proposed in the mini-budget. “People got carried away, myself included,” he told the Financial Times. “There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it.” Kwarteng was ousted from government after he [...]
Optimism abounds in OBR forecasts, but just how feasible are they? November 28, 2022 When former Tory chancellor George Osborne created the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in 2010, he was unlikely to have envisioned it would become the source of financial market turmoil. But, that upheaval was not the budget watchdog’s fault. Instead, it was former prime minister Liz Truss and ex-Number 11 incumbent Kwasi Kwarteng’s disdain toward [...]
UK slumps to bottom of G7 economy league next year, OECD predicts November 22, 2022 The UK economy will languish behind its rich counterparts next year amid a tough inflation surge driven by worker shortages and an “untargeted” energy support package, a new report reveals. Britain’s economy will shrink 0.4 per cent next year, the worst performance of any country in the G7, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation [...]
London-based FX experts Lumon post annual growth of almost 30 per cent despite volatility October 31, 2022 A year after its rebrand, London-based payments group Lumon posted annual growth of almost 30 per cent, with its corporate division excelling. The company announced its revenue forecast for the year has gone up by 27 per cent from 2021. Its corporate division expanded over the year, up 48 per cent year on year. It [...]
London’s FTSE 100 boosted by Truss trampled stocks regaining ground after Sunak victory October 24, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 today was lifted by stocks that have suffered during the last month’s financial market turmoil regaining losses. The capital’s premier index closed 0.64 per cent higher at 7,013.99 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, rose 0.76 per cent to [...]
UK headed for ‘deep recession’ on political turmoil and soaring interest rates October 24, 2022 The UK could be hurtling toward a “deep recession” caused by a mixture of political turmoil and soaring prices forcing the Bank of England to hike interest rates steeply, a closely watched survey out today reveals. Britain’s private sector economy shrank sharply this month, with contraction rates returning to levels last seen in January 2021 [...]
Truss’ diagnosis of Britain’s growth riddle should be remembered October 21, 2022 The Italian Ambassador to Britain is this week a very grumpy man. The source of his angst is the cover of The Economist newspaper, which this week reads “welcome to Britaly,” alongside a mock-up of Liz Truss as a kind of Milanese Boudicca, branding spaghetti atop her spear and protected by a shield made of [...]
Truss mini-budget boosts Brits’ confidence as experts warn against austerity 2.0 October 21, 2022 Brits’ confidence in their finances and the economy bumped higher in the aftermath of former prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget, a closely watched survey published today reveals. Consumer confidence rose for the first time since last November this month, up to minus 47 from a record low minus 49, according to research firm GfK. Optimism [...]