Where next for markets as Europe moves from recovery to expansion? February 16, 2018 Market volatility rose at the start of February against a backdrop of strong economic data, causing many investors to question whether the bull-run for the stock market was over. Can Europe’s economic momentum continue and how will tighter monetary policy affects investments? At the 2018 Schroders Investment Conference investment experts discussed the economic outlook for [...]
Debate: Should the Bank of England scrap its two per cent inflation target? February 16, 2018 Should the Bank of England scrap its two per cent inflation target? Yes – Matt Kilcoyne is head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute. Inflation is an imperfect target to deliver stability of money supply, as it is affected by both demand factors (which the Bank controls) and supply factors (which the Bank can’t [...]
What really caused the FTSE 100 “wobble” February 15, 2018 Investment commentators clearly dusted off their thesauruses before they spoke to the media to describe the behaviour of financial markets over the last week. "Tumble", "pullback", "pause for breath"? "Shake-out", "setback", "wobble", "plunge"? "Breather", "sell-off", "rout", "correction"? Or perhaps you would prefer a good, old-fashioned "opportunity"? The explanations for the 'sell-off' have been equally as [...]
Majority of big banks failing Mark Carney’s climate change requirements February 15, 2018 The world’s biggest banks are failing to take climate change seriously in their business plans, as demanded by regulators, according to research to be published today by a large investor group. Less than half of the 59 international banks surveyed by Boston Common Asset Management have carried out a scenario analysis for if global temperatures [...]
Digital challenger bank Monzo is expanding to Ireland after Bank of England approval kicks off Europe plans February 14, 2018 Monzo is kickstarting its international expansion plans with a move into Ireland after gaining the green-light from the City watchdog. The digital challenger bank will start working on launching its product in the country after gaining passporting permission from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) . Ireland will be the start of Monzo’s [...]
Stock markets slide and bond yields jump as US inflation surprises on the upside February 14, 2018 US inflation rose faster than expected in January, sending bond yields higher amid fears over central bank tightening which triggered last week’s stocks sell-off. The consumer price index of inflation rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to January, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, faster than the 1.9 per cent expected [...]
Bank of England survey shows UK pay rises might finally be on the way February 14, 2018 A long-awaited pay rise for UK workers is finally here, according to a Bank of England survey of businesses. According to the February update, private sector business leaders are expecting an average pay settlement rate of 3.1 per cent in 2018, compared with 2.6 per cent last year. Only the construction sector is predicted to [...]
The Bank of England will almost certainly hike rates in May February 14, 2018 The question of the next rise in UK interest rates has shifted definitively from if to when. Last week an uncharacteristically hawkish press conference by the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney left the markets in little doubt that it could come as early as May. At the start of the week the probability of [...]
Barclays Techstars accelerator adds Anthony Browne , ex-head of banking industry body BBA, as entrepreneur in residence February 14, 2018 The former boss of the British Bankers’ Association; the industry body which last year became UK Finance, has resurfaced at the tech accelerator of one of Britain’s biggest banks. Anthony Browne is joining Barclays Techstars as entrepreneur in residence where he will help advise fintech startups. “Financial technology is one of the most exciting and [...]
First-time buyers at 10-year high in 2017 but the mortgage market weakened in December February 13, 2018 The number of mortgages taken out by first-time buyers boomed last year to its highest level since 2006, buoyed by the Help to Buy subsidy. Banks lent money to 365,000 first-time buyers in 2017, an increase on the year before of 7.4 per cent, according to UK Finance, the lenders’ industry body. However, the December [...]