UK GDP growth has “muddled through” in the second quarter hitting 0.3 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics’ first estimate. In line with consensus expectations, the figures are a slight improvement on the previous quarter. The UK delivered GDP growth of 0.2 per cent in Q1 and was the worst performing economy in […]
Citigroup will decide this week to base its EU operations in Frankfurt after Brexit, according to reports. After the US powerhouse, which employs 9,000 people in the UK, had warned of moving “a couple of hundred” jobs away from London when the UK leaves the EU to create a new sales and trading hub, sources […]
The gap is widening between those on the MPC who back record low interest rates and QE and those who think the economy does not need the extra stimulus
UK construction has followed manufacturing with disappointing June PMIs. Services PMIs released on Wednesday will round out the trio of surveys. The construction index fell back to 54.8 in June after a jump to 56 in May. The slowdown was across all sectors. EY Item Club chief economic adviser Howard Archer says the softer construction PMI […]
Four ex-Barclays directors, including former chief executive John Varley, have been let out on bail as their court case over alleged fraud begins. The four are in court following Serious Fraud Office charges over the way the bank raised money from Qatari investors without fully disclosing the deals and fees paid to the market, according to […]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned world leaders not to roll back regulatory reforms to the banking sector. Unwinding measures introduced since the financial crisis could have an impact on global growth, Carney wrote in a letter to G20 leaders ahead of a meeting later this week. Carney’s comments, made in his capacity […]
Union hits out at below inflation pay rises for maintenance, parlours and security staff
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 […]
Helping clients to make the right choices for regular savings and lump sum investment is one of the key roles of financial planners. Making the wrong choices can cause serious financial detriment and this consequence, together with relative complexity over the choices and difficulty in “self-serving” the answers, are, in my view, the three key […]
Bank moves to quell bond liquidity fears in the wake of property funds saga
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 […]
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 […]