Brexit deal confidence up but anxiety remains City Talk A new survey from the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute suggests there is increasing confidence among global investors that Britain will succeed in negotiating a trade deal after Brexit. Nearly half of investment firms now expect talks between Britain and the EU to end with a trade deal. But they are split on whether this [...]
Small respite for household finances won’t last long City Talk The fall in Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in February took a few people by surprise given it had hovered around 3 per cent since November. While a drop had been expected, CPI had not been expected to fall by as much as 0.3 per cent which in economic terms is substantial. While CPI remains above [...]
Britain may be left out in the cold over Russia row City Talk As Britain froze again over the weekend thanks to the mini Beast from the East, another chill wind blew across Europe from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected with more than 76 per cent of the vote and immediately ratcheted up the war of words between his country and Britain. Mr Putin’s victory in [...]
The lessons of the financial crisis have not been learned March 19, 2018 Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that household debt levels are very close to their 2008 peak and, more worryingly, that many households have borrowed so much that they may be out of their depth. "There are a significant number of households that are in so deep that the slightest sign of rough [...]
US bank regulation reforms spell trouble March 15, 2018 On Wednesday night, the US Senate voted in favour of repealing part of the Dodd Frank Act. The act, introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis required banks to hold more capital in order to withstand future financial shocks. It was seen by many as a sensible response given the entire system nearly [...]
That the Saudi Aramco IPO is in jeopardy should surprise no-one March 14, 2018 The red carpet has been rolled up to reveal a sizeable bump in the road. Just a week after the visit to Britain by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, we’ve learned that the proposed flotation of Saudi Aramco – the world’s biggest oil company and perhaps largest company by market value – has [...]
Neither March hares nor rabbits from hats – why expectations for the spring statement are low March 13, 2018 If you were expecting any rabbits out of hats in today’s Spring Statement, both the Treasury and the Chancellor have been doing their level best to disabuse you of such a notion for some time. After last Autumn’s “Boring Budget” expect the “Stale Spring Statement”. Day-to-day public spending may finally be in surplus for the [...]
The EU is about to flex its muscles with Britain and the US March 12, 2018 Military historians the world over have observed the folly of trying to fight a war on two fronts. It didn’t work for Hitler, or for the great military tactician Napoleon. Yet this is the position the European Union (EU) now finds itself in. Not only must Brussels contend with a partner determined to break away, [...]
There can be no winners in a trade war March 8, 2018 Today, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council meets to set monetary policy for the Eurozone. But any hopes there may have been among those of a more hawkish persuasion – particularly in Germany – that the ECB might tighten its monthly bond buying programme further have been all but crushed. Despite the Eurozone’s economy [...]
The economic impact of Brexit is just beginning to bite March 7, 2018 If you needed any further evidence that Brexit and the uncertainty caused by the continued ambiguity of Britain’s negotiating position is beginning to have an economic impact, look no further than Ellesmere Port. The Vauxhall car factory that has been in operation since the 1960s faces possible closure after Brexit with the potential loss of [...]
