Government must re-engineer the economy for a new way of working February 14, 2021 The Bank of England predicts the UK economy will recover rapidly from the Covid-19 shock, as vaccines are rolled out across the country. But might a vaccine-resistant mutation and a failure to bring workers back to offices with sufficient speed scupper such optimistic forecasts? The threats are real and worth considering. The chance of a [...]
UK firms will have borrowed more than £60bn by the end of 2021 February 8, 2021 UK firms will have borrowed more than £60bn by the end of the year, having borrowed £35.3bn in 2020, and been forecast to borrow a further £26bn this year, according to the EY Item Club. Following the UK’s third national lockdown, EY predicted that many businesses are unlikely to start making inroads into repaying their [...]
Santander records biggest loss ever as pandemic bites and profits plunge February 3, 2021 Santander recorded its first ever annual loss today, as €1.14bn restructuring costs overshadowed positive core banking results in the fourth quarter. Net profit plunged 90 per cent to €277m in the quarter versus the same period a year earlier, below the €411m average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. The annual net loss was €8.77bn [...]
Virgin Money adds £18m fresh provisions for troubled loans February 2, 2021 Lender Virgin Money has set aside a further £18m this quarter to protect its balance sheet from potential loan losses, as it reported a “modest” increase in the number of customers needing additional support after exiting pandemic payment holidays. The new £18m this quarter is in addition to £726m the company is holding on its balance sheet [...]
This morning: Silver receives Gamestop treatment on Reddit February 1, 2021 Silver shines this morning as the metal is experiencing a rise in demand thanks to postings on Reddit, targeted in a similar fashion as Gamestop last week. What silver is going through this morning is the same rude awakening financial markets received last week when a swarm of retail investors, who were chatting with each [...]
Sunak under pressure to extend stamp duty holiday as tax break sparks housing market boom January 21, 2021 Housing transactions boomed at the end of last year driven by buyers rushing to complete deals before the stamp duty holiday deadline, putting pressure on government to extend the tax break. UK residential transactions in December were 31.5 per cent higher than the previous year, and jumped 13.1 per cent compared to November, buoyed by [...]
The week ahead, 11-15 January: FTSE housebuilders, Asos, Tesco and UK GDP January 10, 2021 London’s markets started the new year in a frenzy last week, picking up over five per cent and closing the gap on their counterparts around the world. This week is set to be a busy one for the FTSE, with a raft of companies due to provide updates, as well as key economic data in [...]
The case for investing in financials January 7, 2021 Entire tomes have been devoted to investing in the financial services sector – hardly surprising when you consider its size, and therefore its significance to the world’s capital markets. To say the financial sector is large doesn’t do it justice. Of the total market capitalisation of the S&P 500, the world’s largest stock market index, [...]
UK house prices grew at fastest rate since 2015 in November December 1, 2020 UK house prices grew at an annual rate of 6.5 per cent in November, the fastest rate since January 2015, as the sector batted off the second national lockdown. According to Nationwide’s house price index, prices also increased on a month-on-month basis to be up 0.9 per cent compared to last November. As a result, [...]
S&P Global agrees $44bn mega-deal for IHS Markit November 30, 2020 S&P Global has agreed a $44bn (£33bn) deal to buy data firm IHS Markit in a move that will create a new financial services giant.