By Greg Smith on Monday, March 13th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Budget to provide support to the UK economy The big news expected this week is Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget on Wednesday. Government borrowing is expected to be lower due to a stronger tax take and lower wholesale energy prices. If this is the case and borrowing is around £30bn lower than predicted, […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, March 6th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – UK GDP to show a steady increase The main data we will be watching is an expected rebound in January GDP. In December, UK GDP recorded a 0.5% drop, with expectations of a 0.3% increase for January, mainly led by positive services, with less strike activity. Construction output is likely to be higher, […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, February 27th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Energy cap falls, but won’t bring inflation lower until summer The expectations for further central bank rate hikes increased last week, with data suggesting economic activity is in better shape. The PMI reading for February showed a strong increase back to growth at 53.3. The manufacturing measure also returned to expansion. Consumer confidence […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, February 13th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Inflation to fall again, slowly This week, all eyes will be on the inflation figures which are expected to fall for a third month in a row. It may still stay above 10% with forecasts of 10.1%, though this is showing a slower decline than in the US and Europe. Core inflation will […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, February 7th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Bank of England raises rates 0.5% Last week, we had a busy week of central bank updates and rate hikes. The message from all of the central banks was that inflation has probably peaked providing another lift to market sentiment. That has reinforced market expectations that interest rates are close to or at […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, January 30th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Bank of England to hike rates to 4% This week the big questions will be answered by three major central banks regarding how much they will hike rates. The Bank of England is widely expected to raise rates by 0.5% again to 4%. The majority of the panel will likely point to inflation risks. […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, January 23rd, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Retail sales fall by 1% adding to the gloom Last week, December retail sales posted a big fall of 1% and the GfK consumer confidence measure fell 3 points in January. This data will give policymakers some cause for concern. The CBI and retail surveys will give more of an indication about retail trading […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, January 16th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – GDP increases by 0.1%, which could see the UK avoid recession Last week, we were expecting to see another fall in GDP, but instead, November GDP rose by 0.1%. This was unexpectedly positive and means that we may not see a contraction in the fourth quarter. This may also see the UK avoid a […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, January 9th, 2023
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Positive markets as inflation peak seen The markets have generally had a positive start to the year. Equity markets in Europe and Asia have posted solid gains. Bond markets are also higher with yields falling on the hope that we are close to a peak in interest rates. The monetary policy update in […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 19th, 2022
in Blog, Market InsightsGBP – Dovish split as Bank of England hikes 0.5% Last week we saw the latest flurry of central bank meetings. The Bank of England raised interest rates again, but by a smaller 0.5% compared to the previous 0.75%. This was very much as expected, though the questions remain over how much further rates will […]
Some quick example text to build on the card title and make up the bulk of the card's content.
Go somewhere