By Greg Smith on Monday, December 20th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
We would like to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! GBP – Bank of England hike whilst Omicron rampant The markets and many individuals and businesses are watching how quickly Omicron is spreading. Further rapid acceleration of cases will boost speculation about further restrictions. Parliament is on […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 13th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England decision amid growing Omicron impact The new Omicron variant has now been reported in over fifty countries. Reports suggest that cases in the UK are doubling every two to three days. The government has announced further restrictions in England, including mandatory face masks, working from home if possible and vaccine […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 6th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Central bank speakers suggest caution The new omicron Covid-variant continues to be a major concern for the markets and central banks. The variant seems to be spreading rapidly in South Africa, but it will likely be a few weeks before reliable evidence on transmissibility, severity of symptoms and vaccine evasion. This uncertainty and […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 29th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Covid variant concerns and restrictions dominate Concerns around Covid have spooked the markets again with the new Covid variant. Travel restrictions have been imposed into the UK from six southern African countries. Further restrictions are expected as scientists rush to understand the new variant. The initial market response was a drop in equities […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 22nd, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England speakers and PMIs A run of positive data has added pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates next month. Inflation jumped to a decade high of 4.2% in October, partly due to energy prices. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, also increased to 3.4% with forecasts of […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 15th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – All about inflation pressures and consumers This week, the focus in the markets in on current and future inflation pressures. We expect this week’s October inflation report to show another sharp rise. Headline CPI inflation is likely to rise from 3.1% in September to 3.9%. This includes higher energy prices after the price […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 8th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – UK rates held after ‘finely balanced’ decision The Bank of England didn’t change UK rates last week, surprising the markets. They did signal an increase “over the coming months”. There was a 7-2 majority to keep rates on hold. Ramsden and Saunders did vote for a 15bp increase to 0.25%. Most rate-setters, however, […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 1st, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England decision closely watched The Bank of England decision on monetary policy is this week. There is plenty of speculation that the BoE will hike interest rates to 0.25%. This is a reaction to the comments that action is required due to the inflationary pressures from BoE Governor Bailey and Chief […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 25th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Autumn Budget expected to be neutral This week, the Autumn Budget and Spending Review will be the main focus. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will likely increase it’s growth forecast for the year from 4% to closer to the BoE’s 7.25% forecast. Government borrowing was lower for the first half of 2021. […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 18th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Unclear labour market with inflation concerns From recent data, the UK economy seems to have grown more slowly in the third quarter than previously expected. In August, GDP increased by 0.4%, which was better than the fall of 0.1% in July. This was expected, being the first full month without Covid restrictions in […]
