Morning Wire TV: A market snapshot June 18, 2021 After sharp moves (in most cases losses) following on from the US Fed’s statement and press conference on Wednesday, many key asset prices remained under pressure
Mindy Lubber, CEO of Ceres, on why the private sector must wake up to the economic impact of climate change June 18, 2021 | City Talk As President and CEO of Ceres, Mindy Lubber is a world-leading voice on sustainability and finance. She tells Laurence Eastham why the private sector must act now on climate change or risk being left behind. Ceres has been there from the very start. The sustainability advocacy organisation, founded in the wake of the Exxon Valdez [...]
UK retail sales fall in May as Brits swapped supermarkets for restaurants June 18, 2021 UK retail sales fell by 1.4 per cent in May following a sharp increase in April when lockdown restrictions were eased, according to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. The monthly drop was unexpected, with economists predicting a 1.6 per cent increase. The largest contribution to the decline came from food stores, where sales [...]
UK businesses pay £1bn of furlough money back to the Treasury June 17, 2021 British firms have paid back the government more than £1bn in previously claimed furlough payments, after weathering the Covid recession successfully. A Freedom of Information request, sent by the Financial Times, revealed that £709m of money claimed through the coronavirus job retention scheme has now been repaid to HM Revenue and Customs by businesses. Another [...]
Exclusive: British Business Bank could target future support towards Covid-battered sectors June 17, 2021 The head of the British Business Bank has intimated that their future loan support could be targeted on parts of the economy which have seen the biggest hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bank has played a key role in the economic response to the pandemic, expanding its balance sheet from £8bn-worth of loans to [...]
Today’s Fed meeting: Those who eat get fat, those who don’t regret June 16, 2021 According to an old Turkish saying ‘those who eat get fat, those who don’t regret.’ Traders would pick this up as taking a long equity position as investors continue to navigate an environment of low to negative yields on less risky holdings, with all eyes on the Federal Reserve later today. “It’s the Turkish way [...]
UK inflation jumps to 2.1 per cent in May as clothing and fuel prices rise June 16, 2021 UK inflation jumped in May due to rising clothing and fuel prices, pushing it ahead of the Bank of England’s target, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this morning. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 2.1 per cent in May, up from 1.5 per cent in April, beating economists’ forecast of a rise [...]
Road to recovery: FTSE 100 closes at highest point since the start of the pandemic June 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 has returned to its highest point since the start of the Covid-19 crash that wiped hundreds of billions of pounds off the index last year. The market ticked back up to 7,172.48 after gaining another 25.8 points on Tuesday, a 0.4 per cent rise. It means that the index is currently at [...]
Crypto assets: you can doubt, but you can’t hide June 15, 2021 | City Talk It is no longer prudent to ignore the potential of crypto assets. The investment industry can be sceptical about crypto assets. Investors can certainly choose not allocate to them, but few can afford to ignore them. Why? Not just because Bitcoin’s dizzying ascent has captured the popular imagination but the more persuasive reasons why the [...]
To notify or not to notify? The potential perils of uncertain tax treatments June 15, 2021 | City Talk The Government is proposing that large businesses should be required to notify uncertain tax treatments to HMRC. ICAS has responded to the second HMRC consultation on the proposals – the fundamental flaw in the original proposals has not been addressed. They remain poorly targeted, so will potentially impose a burden on all large businesses. Why [...]