Deficit bias: The chancellor’s fiscal strategy has worrying shades of Gordon Brown November 30, 2015 At the Autumn Statement 2011, the chancellor bore bad news. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had revised down the growth prospects of the UK economy, and revised up how much of the public deficit would not naturally fall as the economy recovered. George Osborne therefore faced a choice: to cut spending or raise [...]
Euro-dollar trader? Look elsewhere this week November 30, 2015 With the euro tumbling nearly 950 points since mid-October, how much further can euro-dollar drop? Some say to $1.0450, others parity. We don’t disagree with either of these outlooks and the FXCM SSI index shows that retail traders are still net long the euro-dollar. As it’s a contrarian indicator, it suggests we should remain net [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes down on Aberdeen Asset Management and BHP Billiton November 30, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed down today, led lower by Aberdeen Asset Management and BHP Billiton. The UK's top blue-chip index ended Monday's session 0.3 per cent down, at 6,356 points. Aberdeen Asset Management's share price fell 4.6 per cent to 319.4p after having reported a 12.5 per cent fall in assets under management. The [...]
HSBC Lloyds Barclays Santander Nationwide Standard Chartered face Bank of England stress tests November 30, 2015 NULL
Bank of England and the Treasury extend funding for lending scheme for two years November 30, 2015 A scheme aimed at boosting lending in the economy will be extended through to 2018 in order to help the finance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) The funding for lending scheme (FLS) was introduced in 2012 in an attempt to revive lending to businesses and households. It provides funds to banks and building societies at cheap rates [...]
Mortgage lending and individual borrowing rose in October according to the latest Bank of England credit report November 30, 2015 The number of mortgages approved in October rose to 69,630, just up from September's 69,012 figure and higher than the 68,099 average over the last six months, Bank of England figures published today showed. The value of new mortgage approvals hit £12.2bn. The October total was just shy of the 70,000 figure forecast by analysts and up 17.2 per cent year-on-year, from 59,423 in October [...]
Regulatory fines rocket to £2.45bn as watchdogs use new powers to ramp up punishment November 30, 2015 Regulators are flexing their muscles and ramping up punishments for financial misconduct, with fines handed out to companies guilty of wrongdoing rising 271 per cent over the past two years to hit £2.45bn. The size of the average penalty has also increased by 291 per cent, from £10.8m to £42.3m, according to new data from [...]
Markets poised for European stimulus boost – London Report November 29, 2015 All eyes are on Europe this week as European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi will reveal more details on planned quantitative easing to stoke markets on Thursday. Draghi previously said he and his policymakers would “do what we must” in their efforts to boost inflation to the target of less than two per cent [...]
Bank stress test results: Britain’s seven biggest lenders including Standard Chartered, HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays, under pressure from regulators November 29, 2015 Britain's biggest banks are bracing for announcements from the Bank of England Tuesday which may force them to cut dividends in order to satisfy regulators’ capital requirements. Seven leading lenders – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Nationwide – were subject to the Bank of England’s latest round [...]