City in shock as £1.3 trillion is wiped off value of UK bonds in record sell-off October 31, 2022 More than £1.3 trillion has been wiped off the value of UK bonds since the start of 2022 following a major sell-off across bond markets, according to new figures. Just over £882bn has been wiped off the value of Gilts and Index-linked Gilts, which have fallen 26.4 per cent and 36.2 per cent respectively in [...]
UK businesses optimistic about exports despite ongoing Brexit trouble October 31, 2022 UK businesses are optimistic about their future exports despite grappling with trade disruption caused by Brexit, a new report out today reveals. Some 42 per cent of firms expect their exports to grow over the next year, according to a survey by business lobby group the Institute of Directors (IoD). A series of free trade [...]
Soaring interest rates could spark five per cent London house price fall October 31, 2022 Soaring interest rates and a tough cost of living crisis could send London house prices on a downward spiral, new research published today warns. Home prices in the capital are on course to shed five per cent next year, driven by sellers dropping prices to attract buyers hit by an affordability crunch, according to property [...]
Week ahead: Bank of England to rock markets with 75bps rate hike October 30, 2022 Markets are preparing for a steep rate hike by the Bank of England on Thursday, but not as bad as first feared after former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cutting mini-budget last month. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted a decent performance last week, adding 1.12 per cent to close at 7,047.67 points, while the [...]
Weekend Read: Britain’s ‘secret’ property market generates staggering £30bn in just one year October 29, 2022 Britain’s secret property market saw almost £30.9bn worth of property transactions last year, the highest annual market value in well over a decade. New figures show that in 2021, 98,235 homes are estimated to have been sold off-market, a 51.4 per cent increase on the previous year and the third largest annual total of off-market [...]
Weekend read: Volatile month in UK gilt market turns the Old Lady into a hawk October 29, 2022 As October is coming to a close, it’s been a rollercoaster month for the UK’s financial market. Following the bungled mini-budget on 23 September that sent equities spiralling, the pound plummeted to an all-time low against the dollar and bond yields soaring higher. In the first few days following Kwasi Kwarteng’s announcement of the mini-budget, [...]
Government eyes bank surcharge U-turn despite Lloyds profits tumbling October 27, 2022 Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, Lloyds Bank, has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds in preparation for a surge in loan defaults caused by the rising cost of living and higher interest rates squeezing household budgets. The lender today said it had banked £668m over the three months to September to absorb souring loans, primarily [...]
Fed pivot hopes fade after US economy returns to strong growth October 27, 2022 The US economy has surprisingly shaken off a series of steep rate rises, indicating the Federal Reserve’s campaign to tame historic high inflation is not over yet, new figures out today reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP) across the pond climbed 2.6 per cent last quarter, swinging from a 0.6 per cent contraction in the three [...]
ECB fires second successive jumbo rate hike in push to end Europe’s cheap money addiction October 27, 2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) today fired its second jumbo rate hike in a row in another sign that it is putting years of ultra-cheap money to the sword. The central bank that oversees the financial system of the 19 countries using the euro lifted borrowing costs 75 basis points to 1.5 per cent as [...]
Credit Suisse plots 9,000 job cuts and £3.5bn share sale in final attempt to save business October 27, 2022 Scandal-stricken lender Credit Suisse is looking to raise 4bn Swiss francs (£3.5bnn) by offloading stock as it slashes 9000 jobs and spins off its investment bank in a bid to steady the ship after heavy losses this year.
