Top City bosses to take questions from MPs on Brexit tomorrow January 9, 2017 Some of the City's better-known names will face questions from MPs on Brexit tomorrow. Group chairman of HSBC Douglas Flint, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet and vice chair of Allianz Global Investors Elizabeth Corley are scheduled to give evidence on the UK's future economic relationship with the European Union to the influential Treasury Select [...]
Economists need to start playing catch-up – here’s why January 9, 2017 Last week was something of a cathartic one for the economics profession, as the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, conceded that those who engage in forecasting need to adapt to regain the trust of politicians and the public. Since last summer’s referendum, experts from the OECD, IMF, Bank of England and the Treasury [...]
Productivity puzzle remains for economists despite UK growth in third quarter of 2016 January 6, 2017 The UK is still struggling to increase the amount it increases per worker as economists wrestle with a continued “productivity puzzle”, new official data shows. Labour productivity, measured by the amount the UK produced per hour, grew by only 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2016, representing a flat rate of growth, according [...]
With PMIs suggesting strong growth in the UK economy at the end of 2016, will it remain robust in 2017? January 6, 2017 Ruth Lea, economic adviser at Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. The latest Markit survey results found that business activity picked up appreciably in December in all three sectors – manufacturing, construction and services, suggesting that growth remained buoyant in the final quarter. Moreover, I expect growth to remain fairly robust in 2017, at around 1.5 [...]
Buyer, beware: Bitcoin collecting could dig a hole in your pockets January 6, 2017 The rally in bitcoin over the past week, culminating in its rise to a three-year high yesterday, should provide vindication to policymakers in the UK over their approach to the cryptocurrency. For while other governments have adopted less-than-welcoming approaches to the technology, the UK was embracing it wholeheartedly. As bitcoin began to grab headlines in [...]
Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane says they were wrong on Brexit, but UK must factor in financial services in negotiations January 5, 2017 The Bank of England's top economist has said the financial services sector should be one of the top concerns for the government in the upcoming Brexit negotiations, while acknowledging that the Bank's predictions on the effects of a vote to leave the EU were badly wrong – a "Michael Fish moment". Andy Haldane, chief economist of [...]
Three important investment lessons to take from 2016 January 5, 2017 Did anybody anywhere in the world put an accumulator bet on the UK voting to leave the European Union, Donald Trump winning the US presidential election and Leicester City winning the Premier League? The bookmakers believe not and you’d think they might have noticed – after all, these events were considered so unlikely that [...]
Three important investment lessons to take from 2016 January 5, 2017 Did anybody anywhere in the world put an accumulator bet on the UK voting to leave the European Union, Donald Trump winning the US presidential election and Leicester City winning the Premier League? The bookmakers believe not and you’d think they might have noticed – after all, these events were considered so unlikely that just [...]
Cambridge academics have blasted the Treasury over “Project Fear” Brexit warnings January 5, 2017 A series of dire warnings from the Treasury ahead of last summer's Brexit vote have been called into question by academics at Cambridge, who say leaving the EU could halve net migration. Academics from the University of Cambridge examined official government warnings ahead of the referendum – and said several predictions were “found wanting”. In [...]
Middle Eastern investor buys up Sullivan & Cromwell’s European HQ January 4, 2017 A Middle Eastern investor has snapped up 1 New Fetter Lane, the European headquarters of international law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. UBS Triton Property Fund sold the Grade A property, which is located just south of Holborn Circus, for £69m. Sullivan & Cromwell recently agreed a new lease on the building which will end in 2026. Read [...]