World Cup delivers consumer spending boost as pubs rake in 10 per cent more cash July 10, 2018 The World Cup prompted the biggest spike in non-essential consumer spending in June since October 2016, as Britons spent 33 per cent more in pubs during England’s first match. Non-essential spending jumped by 5.5 per cent in June compared to the previous year, the strongest year-on-year growth since October 2016, according to data to be [...]
Brexit vote two years on: seven charts that tell the story June 22, 2018 On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union (EU). Many expected the UK to remain in the EU, but by a majority of 52% to 48% the Leave campaign won. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 UK time on 29 March [...]
FTSE closes lower amid investor fears over impending G7 summit in Canada June 8, 2018 The FTSE closed down today with investors in a cautious mood for most of the day ahead of a G7 meeting this weekend. It ended 0.3 per cent lower at 7,681.07 points. Markets fell as Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin should attend the summit in La Malbaie in Quebec, Canada. Russia was expelled from what [...]
The nanny state is over-egging childhood obesity rates to weigh in on our home lives May 4, 2018 It may no longer be just parents and children that face “naming and shaming” when it comes to childhood obesity. Schools themselves could be added to the list, as part of the government’s wider strategy to tackle obesity. According to The Times, “schools across England could be required to weigh and measure their pupils every [...]
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 [...]