Markets have bigger things to worry about than a change in Number 10 July 12, 2022 Markets tend to be one step ahead of everyone else. Investors are always trying to identify new risks and limit their exposure to events that hurt stock markets. That forward-looking ethos probably explains why they ignored the upheaval in Number 10 last week. Boris Johnson’s position has looked wobbly for a while. Investors priced in [...]
London markets ignore Johnson exit as banks lead FTSE 100 higher July 7, 2022 London markets today shrugged off prime minister Boris Johnson bowing to days of pressure and ministerial resignations and quitting office. The capital’s premier index jumped 1.14 per cent to 7,189.08 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, climbed 1.51 per cent to 18,875.53 points. Investors have been muted to the upheaval at Westminster over [...]
Finding opportunities in stagflationary times July 7, 2022 Slowing growth and rising inflation is a negative combination for both equity and bond markets. Nevertheless, there are opportunities emerging for global equity investors. This has been a challenging year for equities. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to soaring energy and commodity prices, a global stock market slump and elevated volatility. Recession appears likely, [...]
UK Finance chair Bob Wigley: We need to create ‘reasons for banks to be in London’ July 4, 2022 Bob Wigley, a seasoned City veteran, knows a thing or two about banking. He has chaired UK Finance, the British banking sector’s representative body, since its creation in 2017 by condensing several lobby groups into one. He was also instrumental in setting up TheCityUK, spent over a decade with investment banking giant Merrill Lynch and [...]
Buyer beware! The metrics suggest Bitcoin could drop even further June 30, 2022 Crypto AM columnist Dr Chris Kacher warns that, despite Bitcoin's current downturn, there may be further to fall.
Flying Rolls Royce boosts London’s FTSE 100 June 28, 2022 A positive analyst note sent aerospace engineer Rolls Royce flying in the City today, bumping London’s FTSE 100. The capital’s premier index climbed 0.9 per cent to 7,323.41 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.17 per cent higher to 19,351.27 points. [...]
Brits paid billions more in taxes over the last year as HMRC ramped up tax collection June 23, 2022 The British population paid more in taxes in 2021-2022 as HM Revenue and Customs collected £718.2bn in taxes, a near 23 per cent rise from the year before. Total HMRC tax receipts for April 2022-May 2022 were £121.9bn, according to HMRC data released today. These were £14.8bn higher compared to the same period last year even as the [...]
Criminal attacks, non-payment and evasion result in £32bn gap between tax expected and tax paid June 23, 2022 The difference between the total amount of tax expected and that which is actually paid hit £32 billion in 2020/21 – according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At 5.1 per cent, there has been no change in the percentage tax gap compared to the previous year, although the monetary value has fallen by £2 [...]
Berkeley Group profits rise to over £550m after ‘exceptionally volatile period’ June 22, 2022 The boss of property developer Berkeley Group hailed “extraordinary” progress made in the past year today as the firm posted a 6 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the full year to April.
Q&A: Are we heading towards a commodity super-cycle? June 15, 2022 Commodities have achieved strong price gains recently, prompting speculation that we could be in the early stages of a so-called super-cycle; a sustained period of growing demand exceeding supply. Global commodity prices have moved higher in the past few months, partly due to geopolitical issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A mismatch of demand [...]