Strong household borrowing figures for May suggest consumer spending has picked up in the second quarter, but add to concerns about household debt, say Capital Economics. Unsecured consumer credit growth rose £1.7bn, up from April’s £1.5bn and well above consensus expectations of £1.4bn. Capital Economics UK economist Ruth Gregory says the figures were “unexpectedly strong”. […]
After sale talks fall through embattled bank secures extra cash
The Bank of England’s latest financial stability report has warned on the costs of asset management, alongside banking and insurance, rising following the UK’s exit from the EU. The report says: “If asset management were to fragment between the United Kingdom and Europe, material economies of scale and scope that are currently achieved by pooling of funds […]
Andy Haldane plans to vote for a rate rise later this year as Bank governor says “now is not the time” for an increase
Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney said “now is not yet the time” to tighten monetary policy in his Mansion House speech today, driving down sterling to under $1.27 – a one-week low. Carney’s comments follow last week’s monetary policy committee meeting where three members voted to raise interest rates, the most hawkish […]
Bank staff are angry that an 1 per cent pay increase was imposed
Forty three per cent of EU City workers are planning to leave the UK before the intended deadline for Brexit negotiations in 2019. A survey by law firm Baker McKenzie listed financial services among the top three sectors to be hit as it noted 88 per cent of EU City workers felt more vulnerable to workplace […]
Real wages have seen the sharpest annual fall in three years, down 1.5 per cent year on year in April, the latest UK labour market figures show. The year-on-year growth in average weekly wages dropped from 2.4 per cent in March to 1.2 per cent in April, dragging down the headline rate to 2.1 per […]
French regulator holds talks to lure UK and US firms
Sterling outlook takes hit as analysts await “Brexit negotiations turning constructive”.
Regulator takes stock of contingency plans for leaving EU
Money Marketing conference panel meets volatility debate head on
UK GDP growth for the first quarter has been revised down to 0.2 per cent compared to the 0.3 per cent reported in April. The fall was “mainly due to broad-based downward revisions within the services sector”, ONS said in its second estimate. In particular, consumer facing industries such as retail and accommodation fell and household spending slowed, partly […]
Hires will be in locations including the UK, India, Dubai and Dublin
Lloyds says the sale has returned £21.2bn to the taxpayer The Government has sold its final stake in Lloyds Banking Group, returning the firm to full private ownership after its £20.3bn 2008 bailout. Lloyds says the sale returned £21.2bn to the taxpayer, £894m more than the initial investment. When the bank was bailed out after the […]
The Labour party says it will raise at least £4.7bn a year through a financial transaction tax set to hit share dealing and derivatives trading. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News yesterday the party was asking for a “small contribution” from the City to help pay for public services. The revenue would be raised […]
Investors should capture performance in the good times, but also manage risks in our challenging global economic and political environment When a letter signed by Prime Minister Theresa May was delivered to President of the European Council Donald Tusk at the end of March, it formally triggered the now-famous Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and started the […]
Data that shows the appetite for UK equities is back has left analysts and investors wondering whether the asset class has pulled through its Brexit slump. UK equity funds saw net retail sales of £114m in November, their first inflow of 2016. They had suffered £5.1bn outflows since the previous January, £3.8bn of which followed […]
Mortgage market experts expect this year will bring consumer confidence worries, a boom in specialist lending, an increased regulatory burden and suppressed transactions. But they also showed a marked confidence about the future of the sector. Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair says he hopes lenders keep lending and consumer confidence remains high. He […]
The domestic policy agenda means that the financial services industry faces another busy year of consultation and regulatory change in 2017. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the assured leadership of Andrew Bailey continues to consult on its future Mission. Key themes that have arisen through the consultation include clarity on the sense of direction […]
From endless trade disputes to long drawn out speeches from unelected bureaucrats clinging desperately to power – there are some stark similarities between the Star Wars saga and the EU. But as Disney’s latest instalment cleans up at the box office, Prime Minister May has her own cabinet rogues to keep under control. Whether its […]
What an auspicious time to be writing about fixed income. The UK 10-year gilt yield almost touched an incredible 0.5 per cent in August after the Bank of England provided its monetary response to the EU referendum result. At the time of writing, the yield stands at 1.45 per cent, removing all the price gains […]
The recent Conservative Party Conference caused me to conclude (without amazing insight on my part, I must add) that the new Government is quite different from our last one. Fundamentally different. The world it is operating in is different. Thanks to the outcome of the EU referendum it is an even more uncertain one […]
At the Conservative party conference last week, Theresa May announced she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017 and that a Great Repeal Bill will be brought forward at the next Queen’s Speech. While some were calling for more time before pressing the big red Article 50 button (notably one Mr George […]
I have argued previously that the UK is a nation of savers, not investors. A colleague responded by pointing out that if this was true at all it was true only relatively speaking. He was right. So many financial services industry conferences I attend culminate in the cry that the UK does not save enough. […]
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We have heard very little recently of the Chancellor’s friend but fiscal drag has been beavering away largely unnoticed, raising or saving money for him. Fiscal drag raises extra money when tax allowances do not rise with inflation. That brings more people into the scope of paying that tax and more money for the Chancellor. […]
Changes in the way long-term care is paid for was the dog that did not bark in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement. It failed to get even a mention, despite many telling us there is a crisis in long-term care for older people. There have been calls for tax subsidies for those who save […]
It appears Prime Minister Theresa May has decided to put an industrial strategy at the centre of her “Government for everyone, not just the privileged few”. While it has been confirmed this is not about the Government “picking winners”, I am curious as to what exactly this strategy will be. It may be that once […]