Interest rates have, at last, moved above their multi-year low, providing a little relief to savers, although with many saving institutions opting not to pass on the full 0.25% increase in the base rate, the benefit for many will be marginal. Combine this with a rate of inflation that is currently running well above interest […]
Hard or soft? It all looks a little bit scrambled to me… Theresa May’s Conservative government now has less than two years of negotiations to secure her objective of a ‘deep and special partnership’ with the EU. With the BREXIT deadline clock ticking away, speculation remains over what kind of relationship the UK will be […]
With the year of political astonishments now behind us, investors are attempting to identify the potential pitfalls financial markets may encounter over the next twelve months. Although we are likely to better understand the ramifications from both the EU referendum and Trump presidency as 2017 unfolds, it will undoubtedly take considerably longer to properly appreciate […]
Good work from the polling companies again! Having read through a number of early research pieces this morning, the main thrust seems to be as follows in respect of the implications of a Trump presidency. Republican control of the upper houses should permit most reasonable Trump policies getting through. Some of the more ˜controversial campaign […]
Had you been told 12-months ago that Donald Trump would be the Republicans Presidential candidate, and in with a very real chance of becoming the 45th President of the United States, you wouldnt have been alone in responding with disbelief. But then again, I doubt this time last year many would have predicted that Britain, […]
As voting closed on 23rd June, like most, I watched the start of the referendum results coverage and with Sterling rallying to 1.5 $/£, headed to bed expecting to wake to a ˜Remain vote confirmation. As my 10 week old son decided 3am was a good time for a feed, I reached for the phone […]
Congratulations to the polling companies on another stunning job well done! As predicted in the run up to the vote, share prices and sterling both began trading sharply lower this morning following the vote to leave the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron is one of the early casualties, confirming his intention to step down in […]
On the day that I sat down to write this article it was exactly 20 years since England played their first match in the Euro 96 football tournament, which was a rather inauspicious 1-1 draw against Switzerland. The memories of this tournament are fresh in my mind having seen two documentaries about it aired on […]
My advice on the differing views emanating from interested parties (Vote Leave, Remain, Bank of England, IMF, ECB etc.) on the likely effect on UK economic and individual prosperity, as we approach voting day is – believe no-one! Unfortunately, both sides of the ˜Brexit debate have stretched their credibility more than a little with ˜facts […]
One of the intended consequences of a country adopting a Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP) is a sharply lower domestic currency, which usually is considered a positive as it stimulates a regions growth and inflation expectations. So when, in late January, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda shocked the markets by introducing negative rates […]
