City PM TV: Daily Market Snapshot February 5, 2021 With such a strong rally this week, and a marked retracement of recent losses, the key near term question is whether this is a ‘dead cat bounce’ – OR – simply a resumption of the medium term uptrend. From a price action perspective, the jury is still out. In particular, despite a strong rally in [...]
Energy bills rise could see customers trapped in ‘vicious circle of debt’ February 5, 2021 April’s price cap increase could plunge consumers into debt that suppliers have been unable to recover during the pandemic, according to Uswitch.com. Industry observers have responded to Ofgem’s announcement today that energy bills will rise by £93 to pre-pandemic levels from 1 April. The price cap, which will affect 11 million default tariff customers, has [...]
Negative interest rates remain a distant and unlikely prospect February 5, 2021 The BoE effectively gave the financial sector six months to prepare for thepossible use of negative rates, but that should be long enough for the UKeconomy to move into vaccine-fuelled recovery and remove the need forsuch an emergency move, which would also risk unintendedconsequences, according to Ian Williams, economics & strategy research analyst at Peel [...]
Bank of England holds rates, and would need half a year for negative rates February 4, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) has today left interest rates on hold at 0.1 per cent and its bond-buying programme at £895bn. The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep rates at record-low levels. It also confirmed that it would take six months for banks to get ready for negative interest rates should [...]
All eyes are on the Bank of England today February 4, 2021 Calm has been restored to equity markets as the violent swings that were witnessed due to the Reddit-retail investor mania have waned. Volatility in Gamestop – the stock at the centre of the saga – has cool greatly and that has in turn brought the temperature down in the markets. “Trader’s attention drifted back to [...]
Rishi Sunak to chair meeting with G7 counterparts on Covid-19 recovery and digital tax reform February 3, 2021 Sunak to chair meeting with G7 counterparts on Covid-19 recovery and digital tax reform
US jobs bounce back in January despite Covid-19 case surge February 3, 2021 Hiring by private employers in the US bounced back in January despite a continued rise in Covid-19 infections, according to new data. Private payrolls increased by 174,000 jobs last month, according to data from ADP. Previously released figures for December were also revised to show jobs fell by 78,000 rather than 123,000. The numbers are [...]
The truthiness of ESG criticism February 2, 2021 | City Talk There are two often-repeated critiques of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing that I really can’t stand. They have the quality of truthiness about them and are what academics sometimes call “as if” arguments. For my younger readers, the term truthiness is defined by Wikipedia as follows: “Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement [...]
Rishi Sunak set to maintain triple tax lock despite Covid-19 deficit February 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to have agreed to maintain the Tories’ so-called triple tax lock at next month’s Budget, preventing him from raising income, national insurance or value added tax. The chancellor had come under pressure from Treasury officials to shun the commitment made in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto not to increase rates [...]
Rishi Sunak set to release Covid recovery plan this month February 1, 2021 Rishi Sunak will release a plan for the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery this month alongside Boris Johnson’s roadmap of how the country will ease the current lockdown. The plan will reportedly include a medium-term strategy for how the UK will boost investment and skills as the economy starts its recovery, and will be released before [...]
