City counts the cost of Brexit but eyes turn to new global opportunities February 16, 2021 As temperatures hit record lows in February, parts of London’s financial markets are feeling the cold as consequences of Brexit bed in. The much reported toppling of London as the continent’s top share-trading hub in January is a symbolic moment more than a significant economic shift, but it plays into a wider discussion about the [...]
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 [...]
Adapt and thrive: There’s a £200bn prize for British firms willing to embrace new ideas February 16, 2021 After the toughest of years, many businesses are still reeling from the impact of Covid-19. Shuttered high streets and closed forecourts are the visible scars from a bruising year. But alongside this, some businesses are swimming against the tide, with strong profits reported at firms like Next and Jaguar Land Rover. Covid-19 shone a spotlight [...]
Up we go: Pound sterling approaches $1.40, hitting two-year-high thanks to Covid vaccine rollout February 15, 2021 Pound sterling nears $1.40 after hitting two-year-high on Covid-19 vaccine rollout
The Week Ahead: Barclays, Natwest, retail sales, public borrowing February 15, 2021 City A.M. takes a look at some of this week’s market-shaping events. Barclays – Full year results (Thursday) The past 12 months have been difficult ones for banks in general, but UK banks have underperformed relative to their peers, Hewson said, with the unknowns of what a final Brexit deal might look like also weighing [...]
Government must re-engineer the economy for a new way of working February 14, 2021 The Bank of England predicts the UK economy will recover rapidly from the Covid-19 shock, as vaccines are rolled out across the country. But might a vaccine-resistant mutation and a failure to bring workers back to offices with sufficient speed scupper such optimistic forecasts? The threats are real and worth considering. The chance of a [...]
Rishi Sunak doubles down on 2021 deadline for global tech tax deal February 12, 2021 Rishi Sunak has doubled down on a commitment to establish a new global tax on tech firms in the coming months following years of conflict over a new regime targeting Silicon Valley. In a G7 meeting today the chancellor said the new digital tax framework was a “key priority” and called on member nations to [...]
UK GDP: How City analysts reacted to the record economic slump February 12, 2021 The City was hit with some sobering figures this morning, as the latest official data showed UK GDP suffered its largest annual fall on record. The economy shrank 9.9 per cent in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but narrowly avoided a double-dip recession with growth of one per cent in the final [...]
Before the Bell: Firm focus on UK GDP numbers this morning February 12, 2021 It was another uneventful day in the markets yesterday as fresh news stories were thin on the ground. The same old headlines about vaccines being distributed and optimism with respect to President Biden getting his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan approved in the next few weeks continued to be the main focus of traders’ attention. Both [...]
UK GDP suffers largest contraction on record in 2020 February 12, 2021 UK gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 9.9 per cent last year, marking the largest annual fall on record. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK GDP grew one per cent in the fourth quarter of the year due to recovery in government consumption and business investment as Covid restrictions eased. That followed 16.1 [...]