Italian coaliation will have as much stability as an elephant on a unicycle March 6, 2018 For weeks, the Eurozone has been dogged by political uncertainty in two of the bloc’s largest economies, Germany and Italy. Monday brought a return to type, if not stability, in them both. The week began with the news that Germany’s political limbo was finally over, after members of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) voted in [...]
Britain in La La Land on Brexit March 5, 2018 In the past week or so, Toys R Us and Maplin Electronics have gone into administration with the loss of around 5,000 jobs, house price growth has slowed to a crawl, economic growth has been revised down. One of the biggest shocks came from Foxton’s estate agents which announced a huge 65 per cent plunge [...]
Despite the volatility there’s much for US markets to celebrate March 1, 2018 There was no escaping reports of US stock market volatility throughout February. Yet oddly, despite Wall Street heading for its first month of losses in nearly a year, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are still not that far off their record highs. Having fallen 10 per cent from the records set on 26 [...]
Fed chair willing to hike rates faster if necessary February 28, 2018 On Tuesday, US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s prepared comments to Congress were released ahead of his appearance before the House Financial Services committee. In them he downplayed concerns over recent stock market volatility, claiming dramatic swings do not weigh heavily on his outlook for the economy and maintaining his expectation for further gradual increases [...]
RBS’s return to profit welcome but will taxpayers ever see their £45bn? February 27, 2018 On Friday, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported its first annual profit in a decade. The profit was seen as a “really symbolic moment” by the bank’s chief executive, Ross McEwan, and it is significant as the bank is still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer. RBS reported a pre-tax profit of £752m for [...]
Who needs Thorpe Park when you have Brexit? February 26, 2018 Up one minute, hands in the air, down the next, faces distorted by politico-economic G-force. Who needs Thorpe Park when you've got Brexit? The roller-coaster ride continued apace last week, with news that the economy grew less than previously thought in the fourth quarter of 2017 delivering the latest stomach-churning dip. In a definite curveball [...]
Berlusconi’s ghost haunts Italy’s general election – and reveals the polarisation of its politics February 22, 2018 Liberal commentators regularly liken President Trump to the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The huge personal fortune, the unabashed anti-immigration, tax-cutting populism, even the perma-tanned complexion – the comparisons are irresistible. Yet having previously served three terms as Prime Minister, Mr Berlusconi is no insurgent outsider in Italian politics. With barely two weeks to [...]
Wall Street’s identity crisis – bull or bear? February 21, 2018 US equities markets may have been closed on Monday for President’s Day, but that didn’t stop two of Wall Street’s biggest beasts issuing analyst notes for traders to chew over. First came Goldman Sachs, with a warning that US Federal spending was moving into “uncharted territory”. It cited Federal spending, rising yields and surging debt [...]
Cryptocurrency founder has a wise head on young shoulders February 20, 2018 As sales pitches go, it’s an unconventional one. In fact it’s more warning than advert, but you can’t argue with the logic behind it. The tweet was as stark as it was short: “Cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class, and could drop to near-zero at any time.” So wrote Vitalik Buterin, the [...]
Retail sales figures reveal the depth of Britain’s economic uncertainty February 19, 2018 A debate which appeared all but settled at the tail end of 2017 is steadily reopening. The question of whether Britain’s economy will expand more this year than it did last year is looking increasingly finely balanced. Just a few months ago, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) cut its annual economic growth forecasts for [...]
