By: Jake Cordell

I'm City A.M.'s economics reporter, looking at the news, stories and data that move markets in the UK, Europe and around the globe. I also cover broader developments in the business and political worlds at home and abroad.

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At the close: £30bn wiped off FTSE 100 as Brexit fears mount

June 14, 2016

Financial markets were plunged into turmoil today as the latest Brexit opinion polls sent investors running for the hills, wiping tens of billions off the value of the UK's leading companies. The FTSE 100 shed two per cent to end the day at 5,923.53 – its lowest close since 24 February – knocking roughly £30bn [...]
European Central Bank to do “whatever it takes” to limit turmoil following Brexit vote

June 14, 2016

Europe's top central bankers are ready to announce they will do "whatever it takes" to contain the spillover of Brexit on the financial markets. The European Central Bank (ECB) is reportedly preparing to make a high-profile pledge on 24 June in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU to provide as much assistance as possible to [...]
The pound is feeling the pressure of the latest Brexit polls

June 14, 2016

Sterling has continued its sharp decline this morning as another set of opinion polls showed the Leave side pulling ahead with just nine days to go until the EU referendum. The pound has lost 1.1 per cent against the US dollar so far today to stand at $1.4117 in early afternoon trading – a two-month low. It also fell against [...]
Who in the City should actually be worried about Brexit?

June 14, 2016

Without question, the UK’s financial services have been one of its strongest performing industries over the last 40 years. The sector accounts for 12 per cent of income tax receipts, a net trade surplus of three per cent and provides 1.4 million jobs to boot. What’s more, the UK boasts the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) [...]
The UK’s construction conundrum – can we trust the numbers?

June 14, 2016

Last week we saw some welcome news from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) as we were told that construction output had risen by 2.5 per cent between March and April. This of course added to the better industrial production and manufacturing numbers which makes April look very spring like. Unfortunately there are real problems with [...]
Muted demand for extra sterling in Bank of England special auction

June 14, 2016

UK lenders tapped up the Bank of England for an extra £2.5bn worth of cash in the first of a series of extra liquidity auctions ahead of the EU referendum. Threadneedle Street has added three extra rounds to its monthly bout of asset-swapping with UK banks, where it lets them get their hands on currency reserves [...]
German borrowing cost turn negative for the first ever time as investors rush to safety

June 14, 2016

The latest key milestone in the new low interest rate era was breached this morning. After months of precipitous declines, yields on the German 10-year bund turned negative in the first few hours of today's trading, hitting minus 0.03 per cent, before settling at minus 0.02 per cent. That means investors are paying the German government to take [...]
Inflation holds steady for another month but economists expect movement after 23 June – whatever the result

June 14, 2016

Inflation remained stuck near record lows in May as cheaper clothes, food and entertainment offset the effects of rising fuel costs. Prices went up by 0.3 per cent over the year, as measured on the consumer prices index (CPI), according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning. That was unchanged from [...]
FTSE 100 drops below 6,000 to new three-month low on Brexit fears

June 14, 2016

The FTSE 100 crashed below 6,000 points this morning as investors fled from risky assets in the run up to the EU referendum. The benchmark London index sank 1.3 per cent in the first 90 minutes of trading to stand at 5,967, below the key 6,000 barrier last breached in February. Already at a three-month low, [...]
The Eurozone’s winners and losers – and how to close the gap

June 13, 2016

While helpful in addressing the symptom, deflation, Mario Draghi’s quantitative easing cannot be expected to solve the Eurozone’s underlying problem – a monetary union devoid of economic union. Solving this will take years. The chart below tracks the winners and losers of the euro, since its introduction. It highlights how real unit labour costs have [...]

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By: Jake Cordell

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