Hidden cuts in Rishi Sunak’s Budget to deliver ‘second austerity’, says IFS March 18, 2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget is set to cause a “second, sharp dose of austerity” thanks to £4bn of hidden cuts, according to new analysis by a leading economic think tank. The Institute for Fiscal Studies today said there were extensive public service cuts buried in the Budget, which will see funding for the Home Office, HM [...]
Analysts: Inflation in focus as BoE delivers monetary policy verdict March 18, 2021 The Bank of England is expected to focus on inflation when it publishes its latest monetary policy decisions at noon, according to analysts. Barret Kupelian, senior economist at PwC, said that vaccine rollouts, GDP data and positive Budget measures will “tilt the balance of risks to the UK economy towards the upside”. “As a result, [...]
Bulls in control after dovish Fed as attention shifts to Bank of England today March 18, 2021 European stock markets had a dull session yesterday as traders played it safe ahead of the closely-watched Fed update. Rates were kept on hold, meeting forecasts. The economy is now projected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2021, up from the 4.2 per cent forecast issued three months ago. David Madden, market analyst at [...]
US Fed surprises with 6.5 per cent growth prediction and leaves interest rates on hold March 17, 2021 US Fed surprises with 6.5 per cent growth prediction and leaves interest rates on hold
UK businesses look for international trading opportunities post-Brexit March 17, 2021 Britain’s vaccine rollout has triggered a wave of optimism among businesses as they look to new growth opportunities after the pandemic but Brexit concerns still linger. Business confidence is now at its highest level since the summer of 2018 as the government steps up its efforts to vaccinate the adult population by the summer. While [...]
How can investors access the UK’s industrial recovery? March 17, 2021 | City Talk The UK has barely begun to edge out of its third Covid-19 lockdown but economic activity in some sectors is already racing ahead. While consumer-facing services businesses still await a return to “normal”, the industrial manufacturing and construction parts of the economy are recovering strongly. We can see signs of this in the CIPS/Markit manufacturing [...]
FTSE slips ahead of US Fed meeting March 17, 2021 The FTSE 100 dipped slightly this morning as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting for signs about upcoming interest rates. London’s blue-chip index opened 0.25 per cent down, with mining stocks including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Evraz and BHP Group falling between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent. BT [...]
Before the Bell: The Fed will give its latest policy verdict today March 17, 2021 There have been growing concerns that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is linked to blood clots, which is why several European countries have halted distributing the vaccination. Multiple governments have taken the decision to suspend the rolling out of the vaccine but at the same time, the WHO and the European Medicines Agency support the vaccine. European [...]
Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher as markets shrug off Astrazeneca saga March 16, 2021 Wall Street rose to record highs this afternoon as tech stocks gained momentum ahead of a two-day policy meeting for the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up 0.27 per cent to an all-time high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.17 per cent, extending a rebound in stocks following last month’s sell-off. The Dow Jones [...]
eToro confirms plans to merge with a Spac at $10bn valuation March 16, 2021 Investment platform eToro has confirmed plans to merge with a special acquisition company after years of speculation about going public. The London-based firm announced it had agreed to merge with Fintech Acquisition Corp. V in a deal which values eToro at around $10.4bn. The companies are raising approximately $650m in equity. Established in 2007 by [...]