Man’s best friend: Brits put a premium on pets even as household spend slips April 29, 2021 Not even lockdown could put an end to the old adage ‘Dogs are a man’s best friend’. In the last three months spending on pets surged as Brits prioritised emotional connections. Nationwide’s latest quarterly spending report reveals the biggest increases in spending between January and March have been on dating sites, gardening and pet-related costs. [...]
Fed keeps rates and bond buying unchanged but notes “strengthened” recovery April 28, 2021 The Federal Reserve has left interest rates and bond buying unchanged but is encouraged by a “strengthened economy”. “Amid progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened,” the central bank said. The result of the FOMC result is as analysts expected but the vaccine rollout and additional stimulus [...]
Britain’s top bosses call for ‘national prosperity’ plan to boost growth post-pandemic April 28, 2021 Some of the UK’s top business leaders have called on the Government to set out a plan to boost growth as the country deals with the devastating impact of the pandemic. The Covid Recovery Commission, a group set up by last summer which includes top executives from Tesco, Shell and Heathrow Airport , has set [...]
Trading at all hours: The portfolio implications April 27, 2021 | City Talk Millions of retail investors opened up brokerage accounts this past year and many took to trading throughout the day as a way to pass the time, keep themselves entertained, and make a bit of money. So did all this trading actually help the average retail investor’s portfolio during the COVID-19–dominated months of 2020? Nighttime is [...]
City PM TV: Daily Market Snapshot (video) April 26, 2021 Since early April, US equity markets have been in a persistent uptrend. That’s been is aided and abetted by (i) notable US dollar weakness; (ii) lower bond yields (resulting in tech outperformance); and (iii) a strong Q1 earnings season, with most US companies surprising markets to the upside. In that respect, and while US equity indices [...]
UK set for ‘very rapid growth’ over next quarters, says BoE’s Broadbent April 25, 2021 Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent said that the UK would see “very rapid growth” over the next couple of quarters as people rush to spend after lockdown. In an interview with the Telegraph, he said that the economy would see a boost simply from people saving less after the pandemic, let alone spending [...]
Public sector borrowing surges to record high April 23, 2021 Public sector borrowing surged to a record high in the past year after a huge rise in spending and tax cuts amid the pandemic. The UK Government borrowed £303.1bn in the last year, an increase of £246bn on the previous year, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). As a ratio of [...]
Government leaking Covid economic policy erodes public trust, think tank warns April 23, 2021 Treasury’s leaking of Covid-19 recovery policies to some media outlets weeks in advance, while keeping tight lipped on important details, risks eroding public trust, a leading economic think tank has warned. A new report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said the current method has led to serious fiscal failures and [...]
Set the tone: Central bankers can move markets or ease volatility based on their vocal pitch April 21, 2021 When it comes to absorbing shocks, boosting stocks or reducing volatility markets take their cues from the tone of voice central bankers use
Netflix catches a chill while inflation is knocking at the door April 21, 2021 When you see American Airlines fall 8 per cent because it announced a bigger-than-expected loss in the first quarter, you are fine with that information. But when you see Netflix plunge 10 per cent after-market because it missed estimates, that’s a shocker. Netflix surprised to the downside yesterday, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst [...]
