Eurozone inflation falls to add to European Central Bank quantitative easing quandary May 3, 2018 The pace of price rises in the Eurozone fell in April to add to the reasons for caution for the European Central Bank (ECB) over withdrawing monetary policy stimulus in the autumn. Consumer price inflation fell to an annual rate of 1.2 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent, in spite of a marked pick-up [...]
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 [...]
Consumer confidence improved at the end of last year but spending is still cautious April 23, 2018 Consumer confidence ticked up at the beginning of 2018, but non-essential spending was flat. The agreement of a Brexit transition deal boosted overall confidence during the first three months of the year, according to Deloitte. But spending was still heavily weighted towards utilities bills, transport and food and drink. Discretionary spending meanwhile was flat compared [...]
Businesses set to boost investment and expect price inflation to slow, as effect of sterling’s deprecation wanes – Bank of England March 28, 2018 Businesses surveyed by the Bank of England are expecting price inflation to slow, according to a business conditions summary published today. Input cost inflation, such as rises in the price of raw materials, had eased slightly and businesses regarded the inflationary impact of sterling’s drop in value to have peaked. Of the 308 businesses with [...]
Retail sales growth beats analysts’ expectations March 22, 2018 Retail sales grew by 0.8 per cent in February, beating analysts’ expectations. However, in the three months to February, sales fell by 0.4 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics. This was due to a sharp drop in sales in December. The bump was largely due to growth in groceries, fuel and online [...]
Why UK-focused stocks look their cheapest in a decade March 19, 2018 Uncertainty about the country’s long-term relationship with the European Union, its biggest trading partner, has left many international investors nervous about investing in UK companies. One recent poll showed that UK stocks were the least popular asset class among global fund managers. I disagree. I can see bright spots in the UK stock market that [...]
This stock market index rose 289% but could still be good value March 17, 2018 Over time, smaller company shares have outperformed larger ones, research shows. The FTSE Small Cap index has risen 289% since its nadir in February 2009, compared with a 158% rise for the FTSE 100. Because of their size, “small caps” have the potential to grow more quickly. The quicker a company can grow its earnings [...]
Eurozone inflation dips back down to give European Central Bank further cause to pause February 28, 2018 Inflation in the Eurozone fell back in February as growth in the cost of services fell back in a development which will confirm European Central Bank (ECB) bosses’ hesitance to signal a tightening of policy. Prices grew by 1.2 per cent over the year to February, down from 1.3 per cent in the previous month, [...]
Venezuela is a socialist horror show – time for the British left to admit it February 23, 2018 What do you do if you are a tyrannical leader who has run your country’s economy into the ground, devalued its currency to the point where you can barely afford the paper that banknotes are printed on, and face fierce public and political opposition? If you are President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, the answer is [...]
Stock markets slide and bond yields jump as US inflation surprises on the upside February 14, 2018 US inflation rose faster than expected in January, sending bond yields higher amid fears over central bank tightening which triggered last week’s stocks sell-off. The consumer price index of inflation rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to January, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, faster than the 1.9 per cent expected [...]