The year in charts: From the FTSE to Zoom’s share price December 31, 2020 2020 has been quite the ride. So, to cap it off, we worked with our friends at Flourish to look at *quite* how wild it was… Global stock markets have had an odd year – from optimism to collapse to guarded positivity for the future. Here’s how the FTSE 100 fared. Currency markets were all [...]
Three quarters of small businesses set to hire next year as vaccine boosts confidence December 31, 2020 Small businesses are looking forward to hiring further staff in 2021 as the vaccine rollout boosts confidence for the year ahead. Some 77 per cent of businesses plan to increase their workforce, with four in ten aiming to do so as early as Q1. The research, conducted by Starling Bank and the Great British Entrepreneur [...]
Wall St closes higher, dollar drops as remarkable year winds down December 30, 2020 By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street ended the session in positive territory and the dollar dipped to its lowest in more than two years on Wednesday, the penultimate trading day in a remarkable year of pandemic, recession and recovery. All three major U.S. stock indexes gained modestly, but short of all-time closing highs [...]
FTSE flat despite Oxford jab approval giving cause for 2021 optimism December 30, 2020 The FTSE 100 nibbled upward in early trading but fell to flat by lunchtime, as traders looked forward with some optimism to 2021. The index gained Tuesday, with many stocks hitting pre-pandemic highs. Traders were less bullish today, and after reaching gains of 0.3 per cent this morning the index has settled flat. Read more: [...]
Wall Street and FTSE surge as US stimulus and Brexit deal lift sentiment December 29, 2020 Wall Street hit fresh highs and the FTSE 100 posted strong gains today as investor confidence mounts in the final days of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were up 0.49 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively as markets opened this afternoon. The Nasdaq also gained 0.42 per cent. Read more: Wall [...]
Excusez-moi: UK set to surge past French economy in decade to come December 27, 2020 The UK’s economy is set to remain the fifth largest in the world, according to a respected annual report, and to surge ahead of cross-channel rivals despite Brexit. The Centre for Economics and Business Research’s annual tally of the world’s leading economies sees the UK retake fifth place from India. Read more: Brexit deal lays [...]
Gove: Free ports and smart regulation the prize of Brexit deal December 26, 2020 Michael Gove has said that free ports, business-friendly regulation and ‘smart’ interventions to support entrepreneurs are the benefits of leaving the European Union. Writing today, the Cabinet Office minister also says that businesses have the “certainty and the ability to plan for growth and investment.” Read more: Opinion – forget Brexit, the EU is circling [...]
UK-EU financial services trade set for further negotiations December 25, 2020 A Government summary of the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union indicates further negotiations will be required to establish market access rules for financial services firms. The document reaffirms “the integrity of our respective, autonomousequivalence frameworks,” the Government says. But specific equivalence deals will be codified in a forthcoming “memorandum of understanding.” Read [...]
PM: Brexit deal will allow the City to thrive like ‘never before’ December 24, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Brexit deal signed today will allow the City to thrive “like never before.” Asked about how much financial services figured in the deal, Johnson said there was “good language on equivalence.” He hinted that the European Union had pushed back on closer integration in the sector. “It [...]
Sterling hits $1.36 amid relief over Brexit deal December 24, 2020 Sterling extended gains on Thursday and hit $1.36 on the news that a Brexit deal has been agreed. Sterling had this morning been boosted by speculation, rising 0.47 per cent to $1.35, up 0.6% on the day and heading towards the 2-1/2 year high of $1.3625 hit last week. The pound edged up to 90.05 [...]