Cashing out: UK investors were ‘most negative’ last year with exodus from equities January 31, 2024 UK investors were the “most negative” of any country in 2023, withdrawing $1.8bn (£1.4bn) from equity funds throughout the year. Globally, the value of mutual funds rose to $10.7trn throughout 2023, largely due to surging asset prices, undoing the damage done by mass withdrawals in 2021, data from Calastone’s Global Fund Flows report revealed. The [...]
Central London Alliance calls on Treasury to reinstate tax-free shopping and generate an estimated £10 billion January 31, 2024 Ahead of the budget announcement on 6 March 2024, Central London Alliance (CLA) has submitted a proposal calling for the Treasury to reinstate tax-free shopping in efforts to help the retail sector recover from post-pandemic challenges. CLA backs requests by the retailers to reintroduce the scheme allowing foreign visitors to the UK to shop tax-free. [...]
Hydrogen specialist ITM Power quadruples revenues as turnaround plan delivers January 31, 2024 Hydrogen energy storage company ITM Power has quadrupled revenues and cut losses one year on from the adoption of a company-wide transformation plan. The hydrogen energy storage company reported that revenues for the six months period ending October 2023 came up to £8.9m from £2m year-on-year while adjusted EBITDA loss was slashed from £54.1m to [...]
House prices: Recovery speeds up as more than half of Brits now tap up parents to get on the ladder January 31, 2024 House prices rose 0.7 per cent in January as cooling mortgage rates are continuing to help repair the market, a new report from Nationwide said.
Business confidence bounces back in January to two-year high January 31, 2024 Business confidence has reached its highest level since February 2022, as firms bet that falling inflation and interest rate cuts will boost the economy. Overall confidence rose in the Lloyds Business Barometer, which measures businesses’ confidence by assessing their trading prospects and optimism in the economy, rose to 44 per cent in January, up nine [...]
What does the Brexit legacy mean for the Conservatives? January 31, 2024 The reality of Brexit, for good and ill, is being felt by businesses across the country. But the most fundamental impact of the vote remains the one it had on the Tory party.
Private investors bail out of UK gilts after mini-budget chaos January 31, 2024 Ownership of UK government bonds (gilts) by private investors have fallen to their lowest level since 1996, dropping 44 per cent in less than three years, according to data from the Office of National Statistics. After peaking in December 2012, ownership of private gilts has been in terminal decline since September 2021. Now, only £3bn [...]
Moving markets: Five things shaping the FTSE 100 today January 31, 2024 Asia markets mirror Wall Street's decline; most AI stocks, including Microsoft, Alphabet, and AMD, tumble; China's January factory activity contracts; attention shifts to Fed and BOE policy meetings.
IMF: Germany to be weakest major economy in 2024 while UK downgraded again January 30, 2024 In 2025, the IMF expects growth in the UK to pick up to 1.6 per cent, predicting that disinflation would allow "an easing in financial conditions" and real income growth.
UK insolvencies skyrocket to 30-year high in ‘striking’ reminder of ‘onerous’ environment January 30, 2024 The number of company insolvencies has soared to its highest level since 1993, as voluntary liquidations reached the most since records began in 1960. The Office for National Statistics revealed today that throughout 2023, there were over 25,000 company insolvencies, with every category of insolvency rising compared to the year before. Mark Ford, partner in [...]