All eyes on Biden vs Trump today: US midterms to usher in two years of gridlock November 8, 2022 The sharp decline in the US dollar markets saw on Friday continued yesterday as the greenback lost ground across the board, with the pound benefiting the most, pushing above the 1.1500 area, as markets looked ahead to this week’s Q3 GDP number, and next week’s autumn budget. The weakness in the US dollar came despite [...]
Primark owner takes £1bn extra inflation hit amid ‘most challenging’ economy for many years November 8, 2022 Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) saw inflationary costs leap by £1bn this year alone, as it weathers “highly volatile” economic conditions and hopes to retain shoppers with its low prices. The chairman of the fashion and food business, Michael McLintock, said ABF had “encountered the most challenging economic conditions for many years with sharply [...]
Scorching inflation raises fears of Christmas spending slump November 8, 2022 Scorching inflation hobbling Brits’ finances has triggered a spending squeeze that could bleed into Christmas, research out today reveals. Surveys out from Barclaycard and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show retail sales volumes likely fell in October. While the organisations measured a jump in consumer spending of 3.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, [...]
Hunt looks at business rates ‘cliff edge’ ahead of fiscal statement November 8, 2022 Jeremy Hunt will make a tough decision on planned business rates hikes next week as business groups warn of “an existential threat” coming in April. British firms are facing a near £3bn annual hike in business rates next year if inflation stays above 10 per cent, according to Altus Group. Commercial properties will have their [...]
British households have been worst affected by economic downturn within OECD November 7, 2022 British households have been worst affected by the global economic downturn amongst richer nations according to new figures released today. The United Kingdom GDP’s since the fourth quarter of 2019 dropped to -1.2, the lowest out of the seven nations, while its real income fell by -3.5, also the lowest. The figures were published by [...]
China trade slumps for first time since May 2020 on zero-Covid rules November 7, 2022 A combination of strict Covid-19 containment measures hobbling factories and a global economic slowdown have kneecapped China’s trade position, official figures out today revealed. Beijing’s commitment to blanket lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus has disrupted production, forcing down factory output and leaving Chinese exporters with fewer goods to ship abroad. The world’s [...]
This Week’s Financial Markets November 7, 2022 Looking back to last week, we had a busy week on the calendar. Kicking off the Central Banks was the RBA on Tuesday morning who hiked rates for the 7th consecutive meeting, by 25bps, but sparked some speculation that they could in fact end their hiking cycle earlier than expected. However, with the YoY Trimmed [...]
Facebook owner Meta gears up for mass job cuts November 7, 2022 Things seem to go from bad to worse for Meta, with the Facebook owner gearing up to announce mass layoffs this week. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that thousands of jobs are set to be culled, as the firm fends off the wider tech sell-off and slowing advertising spend. Meta declined to comment on [...]
Crypto market volatility plunges amid widespread accumulation phase November 7, 2022 Data from CryptoCompare shows that the price of Bitcoin moved up slightly over the past week.
UK short positions fall as investors pile into bets against consumer firms November 7, 2022 The total number of short positions in UK companies slid in October as investors piled into bets against consumer firms across Europe amid a squeeze on shoppers’ spending power, new data has revealed.