The euro dips against the dollar and the pound as investors refocus on Marine Le Pen and Greece February 8, 2017 The euro fell against the pound and the dollar in morning trading as political fears come increasingly into focus. The euro fell as low as $1.0641 against the US dollar, its lowest point since the end of January. Meanwhile the pound rose against the euro to highs of €1.1751. Recent turmoil in the right wing [...]
Johanna Konta backed to boost Great Britain’s Fed Cup hopes in Tallinn February 7, 2017 Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong has urged her full-strength team to put women’s tennis on the map in this country by making long-overdue progress in the Fed Cup – starting this week. Britain have spent 24 years trying in vain to achieve promotion from the Europe/Africa Zone – the competition’s third tier – and are [...]
Investing in automation: If robots are coming for your job, how can you make money out of it? February 7, 2017 "Robots are coming to take our jobs,” scream the headlines. The debate around automation has become alarmingly dichotomous – either your job requires skills which are resistant to computers and machines, or you’re destined for the scrap heap. The reality is probably more nuanced. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, it is unlikely that specific jobs [...]
War with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions is now a very real possibility February 6, 2017 Such is the concern about the mad, cruel, despotic regime of Kim Jong-Un of North Korea that an internet falsehood recently spread that sounded just crazy enough to be true. According to the apocryphal tale, the untested Kim – chafing under the patronising tutelage of his uncle, Jang Song-thaek – decided he had had enough. [...]
US non-farm payrolls show jobs booming to highest growth rate since July February 3, 2017 The number of jobs added to US non-farm payrolls in January soared to 227,000, but disappointing wage growth made investors bet against a near-term interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve. Unemployment rose slightly to 4.8 per cent, according to the US Bureau for Labor Statistics, while average earnings grew by only 0.1 per cent. Economists [...]
Six Nations 2017: England heavy favourites to retain championship according to expert actuaries at QBE February 3, 2017 UK voters will choose to remain in the EU. Hillary Clinton will crush Donald Trump to become US President. England will win the 2017 Six Nations. Expert forecasters haven't had a vintage last 12 months, so perhaps England should be wary that they've been marked overwhelming favourites to retain the Six Nations Championship by expert actuaries [...]
How Trump’s presidency might affect your investments February 1, 2017 While Donald Trump’s presidency is not the only factor that could affect investments in 2017, it is potentially a major one. Trump’s plans to boost employment, rebuild infrastructure and bring businesses back to the US could have massive repercussions, both positive and negative, for global trade and growth. His policies have already had an effect. [...]
The City A.M. Shadow Monetary Policy Committee votes to hold rates steady February 1, 2017 The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to leave interest rates and its quantitative easing policy unchanged at the latest meeting of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Most economists expect serious talk of a rate rise to be reserved until the latter half of the year at least – and the possibility remains of a further [...]
How Trump’s presidency might affect your investments February 1, 2017 While Donald Trump’s presidency is not the only factor that could affect investments in 2017, it is potentially a major one. Trump’s plans to boost employment, rebuild infrastructure and bring businesses back to the US could have massive repercussions, both positive and negative, for global trade and growth. His policies have already had an [...]
US private sector smashes expectations as most jobs added since June February 1, 2017 The US private sector jobs market smashed economists’ consensus expectations in January in a further sign the labour market in the world’s largest economy is heating up. Employment in the US private sector rose by 246,000 jobs in the last month, according to payrolls company ADP, the fastest rate since June 2016. This far outstripped [...]