Honda: What’s really hurting car manufacturers? February 19, 2019 Business secretary Greg Clark yesterday took a stand for Britain’s car manufacturers, saying Honda’s move to close its Swindon factory shows the urgent need to strike a Brexit deal. “Decisions like Honda’s this morning demonstrate starkly how much is at stake,” he said. “A situation in which our manufacturers do not have the certainty they [...]
WTO blames trade war tariffs for weakest global trade in nine years February 19, 2019 Global trade is about to hit its lowest level in nearly nine years, warned the World Trade Organization (WTO) today, as international tensions and political uncertainty weigh on countries . The WTO's latest forecast warned that trade would fall below its baseline index value of 100 to 96.3 in the first quarter of 2019, the lowest reading since [...]
Fresh round of US-China talks set to start today in bid to resolve trade war February 19, 2019 A fresh round of talks between the US and China will begin in Washington today in a bid to resolve the ongoing trade war. Deputy-level talks will start today, while higher level discussions will take place later in the week as China’s Vice Premier Liu He arrives in the US. Read more: US-China trade talks [...]
Government laments Honda’s ‘devastating’ move to close Swindon car plant as firm warns UK ‘no longer viable’ February 19, 2019 The government today called Honda’s decision to close its Swindon car manufacturing plant a “bitter blow” for the UK’s suffering car industry. Honda earlier confirmed reports that it intends to shut the factory in 2021, putting 3,500 British jobs at risk in the process. Read more: Honda to close Swindon factory, putting 3,500 jobs at [...]
HSBC profits fall short as fourth quarter market madness hits another banking giant February 19, 2019 HSBC posted a 16 per cent annual profit rise but fell below expectations as market volatility hurt the bank in the final quarter. Shares in the bank fell 3.3 per cent in early trading – the FTSE 100's sharpest faller – as it remained cautious on its outlook for 2019 due to Brexit uncertainty and [...]
Should investors be more concerned about China’s slowdown? February 18, 2019 The rise of China has been astonishing and its growing influence on the world is one of the economic forces discussed in our inescapable investment truths for the decade ahead. But economies don’t grow in a straight line. China is facing a transition period. It is a country we monitor closely and we believe its [...]
US-China trade talks ‘making a final sprint’ towards a potential resolution – Chinese state media February 16, 2019 Trade talks between the US and China are “making a final sprint” towards a potential deal, according to Chinese state media. The People’s Daily – the official newspaper of the ruling Communist party – said talks this past week made important progress, striking a fresh tone of optimism ahead of more discussions in Washington in [...]
FTSE 100 hits fresh four-month high on US-China trade talk optimism and European banking boost February 15, 2019 The FTSE 100 ended a good week in strong fashion as optimism over the US-China trade dispute and the possibility of fresh stimulus measures for Eurozone banks boosted markets. The UK’s blue chip index rose to a fresh four-month high and closed 0.6 per cent up for the day at 7,237 points. European markets also rose as [...]
Financial services sector must prepare as tech giants set to shake up the industry, FSB warns February 14, 2019 The financial services sector must prepare for both the benefits and risks of tech giants shaking up the industry, the global finance regulator has warned. The Financial Stability Board said that tech giants, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, were muscling into the financial services sector and predicted that expansion to continue. Read more: [...]
Don’t hold your breath for an easy fix to the US-China trade spat February 13, 2019 Towards the end of last year, my investment manager sent out a note predicting that the US-China trade spat would be resolved and that markets would rise as a result. I responded by saying that it was unlikely to happen, and that I personally preferred an investment portfolio that was very underweight in companies whose [...]