Japan’s issued 18 demands for Brexit or businesses could leave for EU September 4, 2016 Japanese businesses have issued an astonishing list of demands it wants from the UK and Europe ahead of Brexit negotiations at the G20 Summit, where Prime Minister Theresa May is starting informal trade talks. The 18 requests covering trade ties between the countries were made in a 15 page report issued by the Japanese government on [...]
Back of the queue? Barack Obama warns of UK-US trade “unravelling” September 4, 2016 US President Barack Obama has praised the special relationship between the UK and the US, but warned that both countries needed to do everything they could to prevent those strong ties from "unravelling" as he indicated other major global trade agreements are a priority. Speaking at the G20 Summit, Obama said the priority was to complete [...]
Theresa May talks up “golden era” for UK-China relations ahead of G20 September 3, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May has said this is a “golden era" for UK-China relations, amid doubts over the UK government’s commitment to Hinkley Point. Speaking at Heathrow ahead of her first international conference as PM at the G20 summit in China, May also said that Britain will be a “global leader” in free trade after the Brexit [...]
The Great Fire of London made the city an insurance hub – here’s what we need to do to maintain that status September 2, 2016 This week we’re marking the anniversary of one of London’s defining events: the Great Fire of London, which ravaged the city at the start of September 1666. It was started by nothing more than a fire from an overheated oven at a baker’s shop near London Bridge. The damage was immense. The Association of British [...]
Bye bye Brexit slump? Pound jumps on surprise rebound in manufacturing and improved confidence among British businesses September 1, 2016 Britain's post-referendum prospects received a shot in the arm yesterday as new figures revealed a rebound in manufacturing, causing the pound to rise sharply against the dollar. Growth in UK manufacturing smashed expectations in August, suggesting that the sector has weathered the Brexit storm. And new polling figures out on Friday will show that business confidence recovered [...]
Dollar falls as US manufacturing sector shows surprise contraction in August September 1, 2016 We've missed the hat trick: after this morning's purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) for manufacturing in the Eurozone and UK both beat expectations, this afternoon's US equivalent was a rather damper squib, with the country's factories sector posting a surprise contraction in August. The Institute of Supply Managers' PMI for economic activity in the manufacturing sector fell to [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 1, 2016 The pound has leapt against the dollar after the UK's manufacturing sector smashed expectations and China's manufacturing sector has also bounced back. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. Pre-market futures are looking mixed ahead of the open. The S&P is off by 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq is [...]
Weathering the Brexit storm? Pound jumps almost one per cent after UK manufacturing PMI smashed expectations September 1, 2016 Growth in the UK's manufacturing sector smashed expectations in August – suggesting the manufacturers are weathering the Brexit storm. Markit's purchasing managers index (PMI) for the sector jumped to 53.3 in August, figures published today showed. That's not only the highest in 10 months, but way above expectations of 49 (N.B. any figure above 50 denotes growth). It's also a [...]
Crisis, what crisis? You can see Brexit everywhere but in the economic statistics August 31, 2016 The American Nobel Laureate economist, Robert Solow, famously said that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. We might want to update that quote to, “you can see Brexit everywhere but in the statistics.” UK broad money supply M4ex rose by 6.9 per cent (year-on-year) in July, up from 6.0 [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 31, 2016 Global economic headwinds are increasing and Eurozone inflation data has proven a disappointment. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US market futures are more-or-less flat ahead of the open. The S&P is down by 0.02 per cent, the Nasdaq is flat, and the Dow is 0.04 per [...]