By Greg Smith on Monday, January 4th, 2021
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Brexit deal struck, Covid lockdowns increase The UK struck the historic Brexit deal with the EU on Christmas Eve, just days before the no-deal deadline. Boris Johnson confirmed that a trade deal worth £660bn a year had been reached. The Brexit deal was then voted on by parliament, with a comfortable margin of 521 […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 21st, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Tier 4 restrictions imposed The past week has seen further worrying Covid news, with cases continuing to rise sharply in many countries. Most worrying is the new strain that is prevalent in the South East of England. This strain appears to be far more transmissible and has led to much tighter Tier 4 […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 14th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England meet Continued uncertainty about the relationship between the UK and the EU has been a dominant theme in the last week as Brexit talks continue. GDP growth slowed to 0.4% in October leading up to further Covid restrictions. We have timely December data this week, including GfK consumer confidence and […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 7th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Vaccine rollout starts Optimism that an end to the pandemic crisis is getting closer has given a boost to financial markets. The UK is out of national lockdown and is the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Other vaccines may be approved soon, though it will take some time for a […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 30th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – 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 Insights
GBP – 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 Insights
GBP – 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 Insights
GBP – 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 Insights
GBP – 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 Insights
GBP – 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 […]
