Investors more worried about lower for longer interest rates than Brexit vote October 12, 2016 Rock bottom interest rates appear to have given people more headaches about where to stash their cash than the Brexit vote. Paul Abberley, chief executive at investment manager Charles Stanley, told City A.M. clients seemed generally more concerned about the "near zero interest rate" than they did about the Brexit vote, adding the lower for longer policy [...]
Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of imminent price hikes October 12, 2016 The ex-boss of one of the UK's leading supermarkets has warned shops will have to start hiking prices soon in response to the plunging pound. Justin King, who spent a decade as chief executive of Sainsbury's, told a conference on Wednesday it would be impossible for shops to absorb the higher costs of raw materials and imported products without charging [...]
Sterling falls back after posting early morning gains October 12, 2016 The pound fell back in afternoon trading today, slipping below $1.22 after an early morning rally saw it reverse yesterday's hefty losses. Sterling hit a low of $1.2086 late last night after American traders took a decidedly pessimistic view on the currency, wiping two cents off sterling in a matter of four hours. After investors' fears [...]
Sterling hit its lowest level on record last night October 12, 2016 The pound fell to its lowest ever level during yesterday afternoon's brutal sell-off as the currency remains under intense pressure. Sterling, which has been suffering at the hands of nervy traders keeping both eyes on every utterance from Prime Minister Theresa May, hit its weakest mark on the Bank of England's "effective exchange rate index" [...]
This is how sterling’s unstoppable slide will affect UK house prices October 12, 2016 After a freak six per cent fall when markets opened in Asia last week, sterling is in free fall. The fall obviously has implications for people going abroad – but what about people here at home? We asked the experts what the flash crash will do to UK house prices. Read more: This is how the [...]
Pound’s crash reflects poorly on Downing Street October 12, 2016 Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King spoke out on Monday regarding the previous week’s so-called flash crash in the value of the pound. “The whole thing has generated reactions which are over the top,” King said. Just 24 hours later and sterling was, last night, printing figures below $1.21 as foreign exchange traders in [...]
Time to take a hint: A weak currency means a weak country October 11, 2016 As the global elite (the “dirty” word du jour) descended on Washington on Friday, working the corridors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, there was one thing they couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t weak growth, it wasn’t negative rates. It wasn’t even Donald Trump. It was Brexit and the pound’s dramatic flash crash. In [...]
Sterling hammered as pound drops toward $1.21 October 11, 2016 Sterling continued its dramatic decline last night, crashing through key levels against both the dollar and the euro during a punishing session. The pound lost two cents against the dollar in a matter of four hours yesterday evening, falling to a low of $1.209 after US markets opened. Sterling also plunged through the €1.10 mark [...]
PPF releases deficit figures for September, buoyed by bond yields heading back north October 11, 2016 Aggregate deficits faced by the government's pension lifeboat edged down in September, finally levelling off after a summer that has seen an astronomic rise in shortfalls. The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which employers pay into via a levy and effectively underwrites the defined benefit pension liabilities of Britain's companies, said that its aggregate deficit stood at £420bn at the end of [...]
Official statisticians reveal what Britons think will make them the most money for later years October 11, 2016 Britons think the best way to save for retirement is to invest in property rather than a pension scheme, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although respondents to the ONS survey admitted that an employer pension scheme was a safer way to save, nearly half felt that investing in bricks and mortar was best way to [...]