Week ahead: Russia-Ukraine conflict to drive market swings in City February 27, 2022 Wild market swings are expected to characterise the week ahead in the City as investors respond sharply to developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Last week, the FTSE 100 registered its worst day in 20 months on Thursday, the day Russian troops flooded into Ukraine, before staging a comeback on Friday to end the week down [...]
Saturday Sitdown: Mortgage guru Colin Bell on why Brits are ready for 50 year fixed rates February 26, 2022 Following the Bank of England’s recent interest rate rise and all the implications it has for the property and mortgage market, one firm is offering loans at a 30 year fixed rate, with plans to offer 40 and 50 year fixes in the near future. Sold as a massive lifestyle enabler and gives people much [...]
UK life insurers to have ‘tens of billions’ freed up by scrapping EU’s Solvency II regulation February 25, 2022 UK life insurers will be freed up to invest “tens of billions” of pounds more after the decision to scrap the EU’s Solvency II regulation post-Brexit, City minister John Glen has said. Glen, writing in City A.M., today said changes to the much-maligned EU regulation will unleash investment into “growth-supporting infrastructure like wind farms and [...]
Ukraine invasion: markets one step closer to “peak uncertainty” February 25, 2022 We’re all shocked and saddened by events in Ukraine. Although we are talking here about the impact on markets, we acknowledge first and foremost that this is a human crisis with potentially awful consequences for millions of people. However, at times like this our clients expect us to stay level headed, which is what we’re [...]
Energy prices spike after Russia invades Ukraine February 25, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full-blown incursion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring raising fears the UK's living squeeze will tighten.
What’s behind value’s recent renaissance? February 24, 2022 The debate over the value and growth investment styles has been intense in the opening weeks of this year. Value’s relative outperformance has been eye-catching, with the MSCI World Value index returning -1.3% in January compared to -9.3% for MSCI World Growth. In some ways though, this is just a continuation of last year’s oscillations [...]
Bank of England Governor Bailey doubles down on pleas to go easy on pay demands February 23, 2022 The Governor of the Bank of England yesterday doubled down on his pleas to workers to temper pay demands despite households facing the worst cost of living squeeze in a generation. Andrew Bailey added to his previous comments when responding to a grilling by MPs, also calling on businesses to exercise restraint during price setting [...]
Preventing entrenched inflation will require inflicting economic self-harm, IMF warns February 23, 2022 Preventing inflation from spiralling out of control will require dealing a heavy blow to the UK’s economic health, the world’s economic watchdog warned today. Getting inflation back down to the Bank of England’s two per cent target will come with the trade off of squeezing households’ living standards and choking economic growth, the International Monetary [...]
Firms on the hunt for staff despite labour squeeze February 23, 2022 Employers are planning on expanding their workforce despite an ongoing labour squeeze scuppering recruitment efforts, reveals a new survey published today. A net 24 per cent of companies intend to ramp up hiring over both the medium and long term, according to a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Strong hiring intentions indicate [...]
BoE deputy governor voted for ‘front-loaded’ tightening to quash wage pressures February 22, 2022 Strengthening wage pressures risking further upside inflation surprises led a deputy governor at the Bank of England to vote for a “front-loaded tightening in monetary policy”. Sir Dave Ramsden, a member of the Bank’s rate setting committee who voted for a 50 basis point rate hike at Threadneedle Street’s last meeting, said yesterday further hikes [...]