London won’t be replicated as a financial centre after Brexit, says Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe October 23, 2017 The Bank of England’s deputy governor for financial stability has expressed confidence in the City of London’s standing as a financial hub post-Brexit, saying he does not see its success being replicated on the continent. Sir Jon Cunliffe, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), told the Western Mail, that while some job [...]
BT pension deficit could reduce by £4.4bn as expectations of an interest rate hike mount October 23, 2017 BT’s troublesome pension black hole is set to reduce by billions of pounds as expectations of an interest rate rise mount, analysts said today. Previously, consensus opinion has been that BT’s retirement deficit would swell from £8.7bn to around £11bn. But in a report by RBC Capital Markets, analysts said BT’s shortfall could halve to [...]
UK GDP growth to edge higher as economists forecast a lacklustre end to 2017 as Brexit jitters curb investment October 23, 2017 GDP growth is set to come in at 0.3 per cent for the third quarter when figures are published on Wednesday. That would mark the third consecutive quarter at that rate, after the first and second quarters marked the weakest six-month performance since the first half of 2012. And economists are forecasting a lacklustre end [...]
UK inflation rises, adding to pressure on rates October 20, 2017 There are two key domestic issues this week for UK financial markets. One is the latest inflation news and the implications for interest rates. The second is the ongoing Brexit discussions and what might the latest phase imply for settling. Let's focus here on the inflation news. This week's data release showed that inflation rose [...]
Pound sterling fallen against the dollar as Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe hints he’ll vote against a rate hike in November October 20, 2017 The pound continued on its downward trajectory against the dollar this morning, after comments from the Bank of England’s deputy governor put a question mark over the chances of an interest rate hike in November. In an interview with the BBC, Sir Jon Cunliffe argued most of the inflation the economy is currently experiencing is [...]
Bank of England needs more diversity Treasury Select Committee head Nicky Morgan tells chancellor October 20, 2017 The Bank of England needs to improve “diversity at the most senior levels”, according to a letter written today to the chancellor by the influential head of the Treasury Select Committee, Nicky Morgan. Morgan said: “The Treasury must make all efforts to encourage as diverse range of candidates for the Bank’s policy committees as possible.” [...]
Fraud in England and Wales is up again as cyber crime and credit card fraud increase October 19, 2017 Incidences of fraud increased again this year in England and Wales, as more than half of crimes took place online. According to the latest crime figures for the year to June from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, there was a four per cent increase in fraud offences to over 653,000. This represents the fifth year [...]
Pound sterling falls despite UK wages rising more than expected in August (GBPUSD) October 18, 2017 The pound edged lower this morning after official data showed real-terms UK wages continued to fall in August, despite a higher-than-expected rise when inflation is stripped out. Data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed average weekly earnings excluding bonuses rose 2.1 per cent in August, higher than the two per cent expected. However, [...]
Black Monday 30 years on: how big was the crash and how fast did markets recover? October 17, 2017 On 19 October 1987 global stock markets came crashing down amid worries about a slowing global economy and high stock valuations. The concerns were compounded by a computer glitch. In the space of 24 hours stock markets in Asia, Europe and the US suffered falls of up to 23%. It was the biggest crash in [...]
What will an interest rate hike mean for house prices? October 17, 2017 Inflation hit three per cent in September, adding fuel to the fire for commentators calling for a rate hike. There has been talk of a rate rise for years now, although it hasn’t moved above 0.5 per cent since March 2009. The Bank of England hasn’t increased the rate since December 2007, when it began [...]