Buoyed by Sainsbury’s and BP gains, London’s FTSE 100 continues its rallying march May 1, 2018 The FTSE 100 is continuing its strong performance today, inching past yesterday’s 7545 highs to 7549 and extending its 10 per cent late-March reversal into May. The slip in sterling as well as a drop in UK manufacturing activity have helped buoy the London market, as have Sainsbury’s shares which have continued to rally in [...]
Global markets tumble as US bond yields unnerve investors April 25, 2018 Global equity markets have tumbled amid worries that growing US treasury yields will increase interest rates and drive up borrowing costs. The American treasury yields hit their highest level in nearly four years, brushing just over three per cent yesterday, due in part to rising inflation and worries over a more assertive Federal Reserve. Read [...]
Letting agents are facing an epidemic of their own making April 25, 2018 If you’ve ever had to deal with a letting agent, you may be so traumatised from the experience that you’ve resolved never to move house ever again. You tiptoe around the property, praying that the ceiling doesn’t cave in – just so you won’t have to dial that dreaded number. If you’re under 40, you’ll [...]
Brexit latest: Customs partnership proposal “completely cretinous”, says Jacob Rees-Mogg as he warns Lords against “playing with fire” April 24, 2018 Jacob Rees-Mogg has described one of the government’s official Brexit proposals as “completely cretinous” – and warned against any attempts to stay in the customs union after transition. The hardline MP – who praised the “enigmatic” Prime Minister Theresa May – rubbished the customs partnership, one of two proposals put forward by the government, as [...]
US bond yields continue to creep up suggesting there will be 4, rather than the 3 as suggested by Jerome Powell, interest rates hikes this year April 24, 2018 Could the US Federal Reserve raise interest rates four times this year after all? After new Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s first press conference last month, the issue appeared to have been all but put to bed. Interest rates were going to rise as markets had originally expected, he suggested. That implied three interest rate [...]
Relais de Chambord, Loire, France review April 20, 2018 The weekend: Two hours south of Paris is a lush, green stretch of France studded with over three hundred chateaux, home to kings, queens, and noble families of various factions. Think Westeros, but with better food. Machiavellian figures such as Louis XIV and Catherine de Medici hung out in some of the magnificent structures that [...]
GBPUSD: Sterling dives against the US dollar as inflation fall gives Bank of England headache April 18, 2018 Inflation fell significantly faster than expected by economists in March to hit its the lowest in a year, in a development which gives the Bank of England a “headache” as it looks to raise interest rates at its May meeting. The consumer prices index (CPI), which the Bank targets, fell to 2.5 per cent, while [...]
One person lodged over 1,280 noise complaints with Heathrow in the first three months of 2018 April 12, 2018 One person complained about noise more than 1,280 times to Heathrow Airport in the first three months of the year. New figures for the first quarter show that the number of noise complaints to Heathrow Airport has dropped significantly, though there were still 13,396 lodged for the first three months of the year. The number [...]
How and why rising trade tensions have moved stock markets March 23, 2018 We explain all of the ins and outs of the turmoil in markets this week, focusing on at what might happen next with escalating trade tensions. How far have stock markets fallen this week? Global stock markets have come under pressure this week on fears over escalating trade tensions. The selling has been most marked [...]
Artemis: Investing for income March 23, 2018 On Britain’s railways, a double yellow light is an instruction to exercise “preliminary caution”. On seeing it, a train driver should continue to move forward but be prepared to begin slowing at the next signal; there may be an obstruction ahead. These are the conditions under which investors seeking income currently operate. Financial assets in [...]