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 […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 11th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – GDP and labour market reports This week, August GDP data is likely to show the economy growing at a weaker pace than the first half of the year. In July, the growth rate was the slowest since January at just 0.1%. This slowdown was mainly due to supply constraints. The underlying rate of […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 4th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Sterling wobble despite rate expectations The past week has been volatile again with concerns about rising inflation and weakening growth. They are both linked to supply-side disruptions stemming from the pandemic. Current disruption in UK petrol supply is an example and latest updates on delivery issues will be closely watched. The government’s furlough […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 27th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Policy unchanged but inflation higher for longer Last week, the Bank of England left policy unchanged. The Base Rate remains at 0.1%, but an additional MPC member unexpectedly joined Saunders in voting for an early end to QE. While the majority still favour completing the current £895bn bond-buying programme, Ramsden’s switch to ending […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 20th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England to leave policy unchanged The Bank of England gives a policy update this week follows a slowing of economic activity over the summer months. After the initial surge when restrictions were eased, this deceleration may have more to do with supply constraints. There are two new policymakers – Huw Pill […]
By Vatsal Trivedi on Tuesday, September 14th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights, Podcasts
Common Mistakes Companies Make with FX Risk Management How to best manage exchange rate volatility is the burning question many businesses who operate internationally face everyday. We discuss the top mistakes that businesses are making with their FX risk management and how you can avoid them. MORE Speaker Greg has been helping businesses succeed in […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 13th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Inflation rebound and Strong employment expected The GDP data last week showed that the economy grew by 0.1% in July. This is much lower than the 1% rise in June, and lower than markets expected. Following the very strong growth rate in the second quarter as the economy reopened, a slowdown was expected […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 6th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Strong growth expected to moderate Economic growth has been strong and this is expected to continue. The rate of growth is likely to be at more ‘normal’ rates through the second half of the year. In the second quarter, GDP increased by 4.8% as reopening boosted output, particularly in hospitality. The Bank of […]
