The currency hedging conundrum October 31, 2017 British savers have benefited from diversifying their investments away from UK shores in the quest for lower risk and better returns. Those who have held US equities for the past five years – rather than the FTSE – have enjoyed returns that are 40 per cent better in local currency terms, but 80 per cent [...]
The investment decision that haunts us most October 31, 2017 With the clocks going back this Sunday we got to talking about the one hour from our lives we would want to have over again if we could. From there, it was but a short jump to the single investment decision we wish we could take back or, given Halloween is just around the corner, [...]
Financial Conduct Authority takes backward step on its own diversity targets October 30, 2017 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was today forced to issue a reprimand to itself as data showed the City watchdog has moved further away from its own targets on improving diversity. The FCA’s senior leadership team was 36 per cent female on 31 March, a decline from the 39 per cent ratio at the same [...]
Uber confirms Laurel Powers-Freeling as its new UK chair October 27, 2017 Uber has confirmed Laurel Powers-Freeling will be its new independent non-executive chair in the UK. Her appointment to the newly-created role comes as Uber fights to defend its right to operate in London. Columbia and MIT graduate Powers-Freeling is a senior independent director on the board of challenger bank Atom, and has previously held roles [...]
“Shocking ignorance” from MPs who don’t know where money actually comes from October 27, 2017 The majority of Britain’s politicians don’t know where money comes from, despite being tasked with deciding how much of it ends up being spent, according to a poll of MPs published today. Only 15 per cent of MPs surveyed answered correctly when asked a true/false question on whether banks create money when they make loans. [...]
Government did not force Lloyds to buy HBOS, ex-finance chief Tim Tookey tells court October 25, 2017 The government did not force Lloyds TSB to buy HBOS at the height of the financial crisis, the High Court heard today, as the first former Lloyds executive gave evidence in a £550m legal case brought by shareholders. Tim Tookey, who served as group finance director of the bank, told the court: “We were not [...]
The $64 trillion question October 25, 2017 How much longer the stock market rally can continue has become the $64 trillion question. For a growing number of market observers, there’s a simple answer: not much longer at all. Markets, they argue, have becoming increasingly detached from economic fundamentals, particularly in Britain. It’s thirty years since Black Monday and while few would suggest [...]
GDP, rate rises and Carney crying wolf October 25, 2017 The ‘will they, won’t they’ speculation over whether the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will hike interest rates for the first time in a decade will hit fever pitch today if economic growth figures point to a strong summer of growth. For the best part of a month, the City has been trying to work out [...]
How do interest rates affect stockmarkets? October 25, 2017 The UK economy grew 0.4% in the third quarter of 2017, increasing the likelihood of an interest rate rise in November – the first in a decade. With stocks near record highs we look how interest rates affect the stock market. Ask yourself this – how much would someone have to give you in a [...]
UK economic growth picks up slightly in third quarter October 25, 2017 The UK’s economic growth picked up moderately in the third quarter as GDP increased by 0.4 per cent after the manufacturing sector returned to expansion. Britain’s manufacturers had recorded a weak second quarter, with output actually falling, but the sector returned to growth in the three months to September, expanding by one per cent, the [...]