By Greg Smith on Monday, November 30th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Lockdown lifted The lockdown in England is set to end on Wednesday. A regional tier system will be reintroduced with most regions in the higher tiers. Concerns over this approach have been raised by some MPs and the hospitality industry. As a result, the Government may need the help of opposition MPs to […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 23rd, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Sunak spending review Chancellor Sunak will provide a one-year Spending Review this week. We will also see updated economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The Spending Review will cover only 2021/22 rather than four years due to the high levels of uncertainty about the economic outlook. The impact of Covid and […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 16th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Covid vaccine boost News last week that a Covid vaccine may soon be ready fuelled a surge in market confidence. Equity markets are generally higher as a result, with bond yields also rising. Exchange rates moves have been less marked with reports about Brexit negotiations leading fluctuations in sterling. The negotiations continue, with […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 9th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Further support in lockdown With England now into a month-long lockdown, further lockdown support is announced. Chancellor Sunak announced an extension to the furlough scheme until March to cushion the blow to the economy. Meanwhile, the Bank of England increased asset purchases more than expected by £150bn to provide further support. This week, […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 2nd, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Back to lockdown Boris Johnson has taken England back into a lockdown for a month as Covid cases hit new highs and with worrying projections around hospital capacity. The Chancellor has announced an extension to the Furlough Scheme to coincide with the new lockdown. Comments over the weekend from Michael Gove suggest that […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 19th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Circuit breaker? With an increase in Covid cases, Northern Ireland has imposed a 2-week ‘circuit breakers’. In England, the 3-tier regional system of controls was introduced. There have been issues with Manchester resisting being increased to Tier 3 without further funding support. There is the potential for further measures this week. Boris Johnson […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 12th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Further Covid measures Concerns continue to increase around further rises in Covid cases. An announcement is expected this evening to introduce new Covid measures. Across Europe, the rules have been tightened in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. Scotland also announced stricter Covid measures, including the temporary closure pubs and restaurants in certain areas. […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 5th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – GDP to show a strong rebound The UK economy is likely to show a record rebound of around 20% in GDP in the third quarter, following a drop of 19.8% in the second quarter. This week, we expect GDP to come in around 6% higher for August. The easing of lockdown restriction and […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 28th, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Chancellor Sunak support Last week was eventful with a tightening of restrictions in reaction to increasing Covid cases. Those moves were followed by a new economic support package from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. This included a new scheme to replace the furlough scheme from November. Chancellor Sunak also extended the VAT cut for the […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 21st, 2020
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – BoE watched on negative policy rates The Bank of England left monetary policy unchanged last week. They signalled that they are ready to offer more support if necessary. The BoE noted that the economic rebound has been stronger than forecast, with a faster than expected rebound in consumer spending. In particular, concerns included […]
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