Editor’s notes: Does Trump’s victory provide opportunities for the UK? Maybe November 10, 2016 One benefit of Trump’s shock victory is that it makes the Brexit vote look like a council by-election in comparison. The world is now used to the idea that over the next two years the UK will slip the surly bonds of Brussels, and although the full details of that plan aren’t fully understood it’s the [...]
Donald Trump’s ambiguous trade policy is a massive opportunity for Britain to catalyse the creation of a new Prosperity Zone November 10, 2016 Much ink has been expended on what a Donald Trump presidency will mean for trade. He has promised at various times in his campaign to slap 45 per cent tariffs on China and Mexico, to pull the US out of Nafta and the WTO, and has railed against the TransPacific Partnership. Naturally many people have assumed [...]
Trumpism will clash with economic reality November 10, 2016 Yesterday marked the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It also heralded the ascendancy to the world’s most powerful office of a man whose most famous campaign pledge is to construct a massive wall along the length of America’s southern border. “We’re going to build it,” declared Trump, “and Mexico’s going to [...]
Anti-free trader Donald Trump is on a collision course with economic reality November 9, 2016 US presidential elections have always been imbued with protectionist rhetoric, most notably in the Democratic party primaries. What’s different in 2016 is the scale of it and the fact that it comes from the other side of the political aisle. The election of Donald Trump pitches political rhetoric against economic history. Those who know their [...]
Bank of America shaves outlook for US GDP next year November 9, 2016 One of the US' major banks has today revised down its economic outlook for 2017 following Donald Trump's surprise triumph in the US presidential elections. In a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, the bank stated that, thanks partly to the large levels of uncertainty surrounding the new president-elect's policies, it was knocking 0.5 of [...]
The Bank of England has revealed the startups in its fintech accelerator November 9, 2016 The Bank of England has lifted the lid on its groundbreaking fintech accelerator which launched back in June. Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon on Wednesday, the central bank's chief operating officer Charlotte Hogg said it had been focused on three key areas: "data analytics, information security, and some work exploring distributed ledgers." "Just over [...]
Reducing taxes, ending trade deals, squaring up to China and blocking mega-deals: Do Donald Trump’s policies add up? November 9, 2016 Casual observers of the US presidential election campaign may be surprised to learn that Donald Trump’s policy plans extend beyond building a wall across the Mexican border and banning Muslim people from entering the US. In fact, the Republican has set out plans for change across 15 policy areas, including foreign policy, national defence, infrastructure, cybersecurity and regulations. [...]
Investment by businesses is expected to be broadly stable or slightly lower over the next year, according to BoE agents (they’re not secret agents though) November 9, 2016 Business investment by UK firms is expected to slow over the next 12 months – but not by a lot. The Bank of England said a survey carried out by its regional agents pointed to broadly stable or slightly lower investment spending over the coming year. Uncertainty around future demand for goods and trading arrangements as the UK [...]
If you weren’t worried enough today, the European Commission has just cut UK growth expectations for 2017 by almost half November 9, 2016 The European Commission has today pointed the finger of blame squarely at the UK's vote to quit the European Union for its downgrade of European and UK growth. According to the EC, UK GDP is now expected to come in at 1.9 per cent this year, one per cent next year, and 1.2 per cent in 2018. You [...]
The UK trade deficit widened in September, but dipped in the first full quarter since the Brexit vote, as sterling falls showed little effect November 9, 2016 The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services widened in September, Office of National Statistics data has shown. The gap grew by £1.5bn from August to £5.2bn, with exports decreasing by £200m and imports rising by £1.2bn. The deficit on trade in goods was £12.7bn in September 2016, widening by £1.6bn from August 2016. This widening reflected [...]
