Pound rises to 10-week high as fears of a no-deal Brexit recede January 23, 2019 Sterling rose to above $1.30 today reaching a 10-week high as fears of a no-deal Brexit eased. The pound also rose against the Euro to its highest level in a month, rising to near €1.15. Sterling’s rise was helped by hopes that the Labour Party would move to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Labour MP Yvette [...]
Contract enforceability the ‘elephant in the room’ in Brexit discussions says MP January 22, 2019 Uncertainty around the enforceability of contracts is the “elephant in the room” in Brexit discussions, the chair of the justice select committee said today. Speaking to Morning Wire, Conservative MP Bob Neill cited insurance contracts and derivatives as examples of areas where there was still a great deal of uncertainty about post-Brexit contract enforceability. EU-based firms [...]
Forget Brexit – the British economy is running out of money January 17, 2019 The media circus around Brexit is currently the focus of virtually all economic commentary on the UK. This fixation is so all-consuming that we risk missing another real threat to the economy: the dramatic slowdown in the growth rate of broad money This refers to the total amount of money in the economy. There is [...]
Eager for a house price fall? It’s time for a lesson in economics January 15, 2019 Would it be a good thing if house prices in the UK fell? The British public, a host of commentators on Twitter, and even some economists seem to think so. A recent YouGov poll asked Britons whether a 30 per cent fall in property values after Brexit would be a “bad thing”. Just 32 per [...]
The key to improving our dismal productivity? Reignite the UK’s competitive instincts January 11, 2019 The dismal productivity results out this week should cause alarm for anyone who cares about UK prosperity. And we need to talk about it. Productivity – the cumulative output of our workers per hour – is the critical indicator of how competitive we are as a nation, and the surest way of delivering sustained wage growth. [...]
Lending growth slows as consumers remain cautious ahead of Brexit January 4, 2019 Consumer lending growth dropped to its slowest rate in more than three years in November, according to new data from the Bank of England (BoE). The annual growth rate for consumer credit slowed to 7.1 per cent in November, reflecting weaker flows of new lending, the BoE said. The growth rate was the slowest since [...]
Mortgage approvals decline in November as Brexit uncertainty impacts housing market January 4, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals fell to a seven-month low in November as Brexit concerns continued to rattle the housing market. Mortgage approvals fell to 63,728 in November, down from 66,709 the previous month, according to new figures from the Bank of England (BoE) released today. Mortgage lending rose by £3.5bn in the same month, lower than the [...]
Ex-Virgin Money boss among two women replacing men on Bank of England’s financial policy committee January 3, 2019 Former boss of Virgin Money Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has been added to the Bank of England’s financial policy committee alongside the chair of the Banking Standards Board Dame Colette Bowe, chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. The pair will replace Richard Sharp and Martin Taylor, who are stepping down at the end of the first quarter [...]
FTSE 100: These are the biggest winners and losers of 2018 January 2, 2019 THE UK market felt the impact of Brexit last year as politicians scrambled to reach a deal on Britain’s fast approaching departure from the European Union. With a vote on Theresa May’s heavily criticised deal not expected until mid-January, and as the government pumps billions into planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario, it seems unlikely [...]
UK car production slumps 20 per cent in biggest decline since 2009 recession December 21, 2018 Britain's car output tumbled by almost 20 per cent in November as Brexit worries weighed on consumer and business morale. It is the biggest decline in car production that the UK has seen since the last recession in 2009, with November's output heavily down on the same period last year. The number of cars produced in Britain [...]