Trump cancels new tariffs as China pledges to reduce trade gap December 2, 2018 US president Donald Trump has scrapped plans to increase tariffs on Chinese goods, in an announcement that sees the year-long US-China trade war cool considerably. The White House announced it would hold fire on raising tariffs on $200bn (£156bn) worth of goods from China. They had been scheduled to increase to 25 per cent from 1 [...]
Our broken university system is setting future Britain up to fail November 30, 2018 Two news stories this week should strike terror into the hearts of anyone concerned with the British higher education system. First, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released figures on the impact of a university degree on earning potential, and found that sometimes it just isn’t worth it. By the age of 29, men who studied [...]
What millennials want: Not what you think November 29, 2018 | City Talk Everyone thinks they have millennials figured out. But a new report suggests we don’t know what we think we know about this critical demographic, especially when it comes to investing. And that’s a big deal for finance professionals. Think about it: Millennials are poised to inherit about $30 trillion in the next 30 years. If [...]
Mortgage approvals rise to nine-month high while consumer borrowing growth slows, says Bank of England November 29, 2018 Mortgage approvals rose to a surprising nine-month high last month, while consumer borrowing increased at its slowest pace since May 2015, the Bank of England said today. While the Bank said mortgage market activity was “broadly stable” in October, households borrowed an extra £4.1bn against their homes and the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]
Prosperity is the key to solving the migration crisis – and that starts with security November 29, 2018 Here’s some very good news: global prosperity is at its highest level ever. The Legatum Prosperity Index tracks 149 countries, and the 2018 results out this week see prosperity continuing to rise across the world, both over the last year and over the last 11 years. More countries are becoming prosperous and more people are living [...]
Brexit uncertainty drives car manufacturing down nearly 10 per cent, SMMT warns November 29, 2018 Car manufacturing fell by 9.8 per cent in October as global market turbulence and Brexit uncertainty continue to hit the industry. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) out today show 15,255 fewer cars year-on-year came off production lines last month, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. The influential trade body [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney tries, and fails, to prevent Brexit analysis frenzy November 28, 2018 House prices plummeting 31 per cent. Unemployment shooting up to 9.5 per cent. GDP collapsing by 4.3 per cent amid a sharp recession. These were the scenarios the Bank of England used to conduct its mandated “stress test” for some of the UK’s biggest financial companies back in 2016. Last year, the wonks at Threadneedle Street [...]
Stocks soar on Fed chair’s dovish signal on interest rates November 28, 2018 The chair of the Federal Reserve took a softer line on interest rates yesterday, after being slammed by President Donald Trump over his hawkish policies. Jerome Powell hinted he may end interest rate hikes, saying rates are now “just below” the level which would not impact a healthy economy. Buoyed by the statement, Wall Street [...]
No-deal Brexit could result in eight per cent hit to UK economy, warns Bank of England November 28, 2018 A no-deal Brexit could cause the UK economy to fall eight per cent in a single year, the Bank of England warned today, leading to crashing house prices and surging unemployment. However, in a boost for the Prime Minister, the Bank said her withdrawal agreement and a close economic relationship with the EU could boost GDP by [...]
Italy ‘looks for space’ to revise budget in the face of EU disciplinary action November 28, 2018 The Italian government was working to amend its budget today to attempt to avoid disciplinary action from the European Commission. But EU commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said a “substantial correction” was needed, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa and Germany's Handelsblatt. Italian finance minister Giovanni Tria told the Senate the government was working to find “financial space [...]
