UK PMI: Construction sector shows signs of life after election February 4, 2020 Output in the UK’s construction sector in January fell at its slowest pace since May of last year, survey data has shown, in a sign of green shoots for Britain’s builders amid lower political uncertainty. The IHS Markit/Cips gauge of construction output rose to 48.4 in January from 44.4 in December. The reading was still [...]
Just two women applied to be governor of the Bank of England February 4, 2020 Just two of the 23 people who applied to succeed Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England were women, despite the Treasury enlisting a specialist headhunting firm in a bid to diversify the list of candidates. The government named Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey, a former central banker, as the BoE’s next [...]
Pound sinks as Boris Johnson warns of hard Brexit February 3, 2020 The pound has sunk in early trading today ahead of a Boris Johnson speech in which the Prime Minister is expected to demand a looser trade deal with the EU that could spell a hard Brexit. Sterling fell over one per cent against the dollar to $1.3069 ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech. Johnson is [...]
UK PMI: Manufacturing sector hits nine-month high February 3, 2020 The UK manufacturing sector had its best performance in nine months in January, halting a long-running decline that began in May of last year, survey data has shown. The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50 in January as new orders and business confidence recovered. The score was well above December’s reading [...]
Coronavirus: China to inject billions into economy amid outbreak February 2, 2020 China will pump 150bn yuan (£16.4bn) into its economy tomorrow to help protect it from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. China’s central bank said it had taken the decision to maintain liquidity in the banking system and stabilise the currency market. It comes as the country reopens its stock markets after extending its Lunar [...]
FTSE 100 stumbles as coronavirus spreads to the UK January 31, 2020 Britain’s FTSE 100 has fallen sharply after two people tested positive for coronavirus in the UK and the pound rose following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates yesterday. England’s chief medical officer said the two people were being treated at a specialist centre in Newcastle after falling ill in York. Professor Chris [...]
Brexit-week: Why Brexit isn’t the only reason for the pound’s uncertainty January 31, 2020 It’s been an up and down week for the pound and for once, despite being Brexit-week, the UK’s departure from the EU wasn’t the primary cause. The provisional manufacturing PMI came in close to the breakeven point at 49.8, more than two points higher on the month. The services PMI was up three points at [...]
Brexit Day celebrations: How the UK is marking 31 January January 31, 2020 After nearly four years since the EU referendum in June 2016, Brexit Day is upon us. Great Britain will finally cut its ties with the European Union on 31 January after that date was repeatedly delayed. The original Brexit date was 29 March 2019. But that was pushed back to 31 October and then 31 [...]
Brexit: what’s next? The crunch dates ahead and what investors expect January 31, 2020 The UK voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52% to 48% in a referendum held on 23 June 2016. Since then, the debate over how and when the UK’s departure would happen has dominated the news in the UK. The December 2019 general election gave the Conservative party the majority it [...]
Watchdog probes jump in sterling before Bank of England rate decision January 31, 2020 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has opened an investigation into the jump in the value of the pound shortly before the Bank of England’s interest rate decision yesterday. The Bank confirmed it asked the FCA yesterday to investigate the unusual spike in the value of sterling. The value of sterling jumped about 15 seconds [...]