Bulls in control after dovish Fed as attention shifts to Bank of England today March 18, 2021 European stock markets had a dull session yesterday as traders played it safe ahead of the closely-watched Fed update. Rates were kept on hold, meeting forecasts. The economy is now projected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2021, up from the 4.2 per cent forecast issued three months ago. David Madden, market analyst at [...]
Before the Bell: The Fed will give its latest policy verdict today March 17, 2021 There have been growing concerns that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is linked to blood clots, which is why several European countries have halted distributing the vaccination. Multiple governments have taken the decision to suspend the rolling out of the vaccine but at the same time, the WHO and the European Medicines Agency support the vaccine. European [...]
Covid-19: Forget the fashion pages, the ONS inflation basket tells us pandemic shopping trends March 15, 2021 Covid 19: Forget the fashion pages, the ONS inflation basket tells us pandemic shopping trends
Bailey gives cautious endorsement of ‘coiled spring’ recovery and dampens inflation fears March 15, 2021 The Governor of the Bank of England has backed the economy to recover this year and cautiously endorsed his Chief Economist Andy Haldane’s prediction of a “coiled spring” recovery. Andrew Bailey told the BBC this morning that though current Bank forecasts predict a gradual recovery, there were welcome “risks to the upside.” Haldane has said [...]
Before the Bell: Inflation genie returns to his bottle as UK GDP data is next March 12, 2021 The buy-everything animal spirits refused to be caged any longer overnight as financial markets returned the inflation genie to its bottle. Technology was back, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at record highs, US yields held steady, Bitcoin rose, and the US Dollar fell, with markets partying like it was 2020. Yesterday, the European [...]
Hancock firm on NHS one per cent pay rise despite nurse and union pressure March 5, 2021 Matt Hancock rejects opposition to one per cent pay rise despite union hostility towards the decision
UK CPI creeps up during January lockdown February 17, 2021 The UK’s Consumer Prices Index was 0.7 per cent in January, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Rising prices for food, transport and household goods helped to drive the increase. January’s figure was up slightly from December’s reading of 0.6 per cent despite a return to national lockdown restrictions. Inflation remains a long [...]
Some City investors are starting to get nervous about inflation February 16, 2021 The UK will release new inflation data later this week, but if recent investor comments and analyst notes are anything to go by, it is becoming increasingly clear that some within the investment community are starting to get nervous about inflation. According to last month’s figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s annual [...]
Runaway inflation might not happen. But what if it does? February 13, 2021 As 2021 dawned, we were all inevitably thinking thank Goodness 2020 is over. And fair enough. But I felt a little less easy when friends went on to say, 2021 can’t be any worse. Actually, how can we know? Think of January 1666: was the average Londoner – say, a baker on Pudding Lane – thinking, thank Goodness [...]
The pandemic is distorting forecasters’ economic data, argues chief economist February 10, 2021 The pandemic already forced economic forecasters out of their comfort zone, but the terrain is now getting even more perilous. It is no longer sufficient to make a simple assumption about ‘the virus’. According to Neil Shearing, group chief economist at economic research firm Capital Economics, forecasts now have to consider factors such as vaccine [...]