George Osborne should turn attention from cutting corporation tax to helping smaller businesses July 6, 2016 The Chancellor’s biggest ever policy U-turn appears to have snuck under the radar amid the political resignations, betrayals and leadership bids currently dominating the headlines. On Sunday, Mr Osborne announced that he plans to cut corporation tax to less than 15 per cent in an effort to attract companies deterred from doing business in a [...]
Slow lane for EU-Canada trade deal could hit Brexit negotiations July 6, 2016 The EU’s landmark free trade deal with Canada could be years away from coming into force, after it was agreed national parliaments across the continent will have to approve the treaty. Earlier this week the EU’s trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she had ceded to political pressure and decided all 28 members will have to take [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 6, 2016 Sterling and bond yields continue to slide, though gold has been labelled as the go-to investment for the rest of the year. Here's what you need to know before the US market opens at 2:30pm London time. US stock futures are not looking good ahead of the open. The S&P is down by 0.62 per cent, the Nasdaq is [...]
Dip in car sales provides few clues about Brexit fallout July 6, 2016 New car sales dipped slightly in June after recording their best ever start to a year, as analysts get one more snapshot of how the UK economy is faring in the aftermath of the EU referendum. The total number of vehicles registered in June fell by 0.8 per cent compared to last year, with a [...]
Bank of England: How climate change news affects energy firms’ share prices July 6, 2016 Bloggers over at the Bank of England have looked at the effect of climate change news on energy firms' valuations. Central banks are paying more attention to whether climate goals will leave vast reserves of oil, coal and gas unburnable, meaning fossil fuel firms are overvalued. Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, previously warned investors [...]
Sterling falls to a 31-year low while gold jumps amid ongoing Brexit concerns July 6, 2016 The British pound fell to fresh 31-year lows against the dollar and multi-year lows against a host of other currencies this morning. After closing two per cent lower at $1.3022 yesterday, it hurtled to break through the $1.30 barrier again this morning for the first time since 1985. It hit a new low of $1.2798, though [...]
Tory race should come down to experience July 6, 2016 By Thursday night we'll know which two Tory MPs will face a ballot of the party membership. One will emerge as David Cameron's successor in No 10. Five aspiring PMs entered the first round of voting yesterday, and now just three remain. Liam Fox was the first to fall. Having stood unsuccessfully for the party [...]
George Osborne and the government share some of the blame for post-Brexit uncertainty July 5, 2016 "Businesses and markets hate uncertainty”. How many times have we heard that recently? In the aftermath of the referendum result, when the value of the pound fell and the FTSE 100 and 250 indices contracted, “uncertainty” was the buzzword. This suggests that the market reaction was a manifestation of investors asking the question: “what is [...]
As Mark Carney warns of a “material slowing in the economy”, can Britain avoid a recession? July 5, 2016 Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. Avoiding a recession is now the number one challenge facing our economic policy-makers. Despite a base rate at 0.5 per cent and public sector deficit still in excess of 4 per cent of GDP, the Bank and the Treasury still possess a well-resourced policy arsenal. Nimble use [...]
Sterling sinks below $1.30 for the first time in over three decades July 5, 2016 Sterling has been knocked back today, tumbling against the dollar and the euro as the ramifications of the Brexit vote continue to filter through. The pound was off by two per cent against the dollar, falling to exactly $1.2997 shortly after the London market close. It bounced after falling under the psychological barrier, climbing back to dizzy highs [...]
