Bank of England to hike rates 0.25% following Fed and ECB

By Greg Smith on Wednesday, May 10th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England to hike 0.25% on stronger economy This week, the focus shifts to the Bank of England (BoE) rate decision tomorrow, following the Fed and ECB updates last week. This meeting will be followed by a press conference with Governor Bailey.  Markets expect a 0.25% hike to 4.5%, following a similar […]


Local election results as we wait for Bank of England

By Greg Smith on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Local elections as we wait for the Bank of England Whilst the other major central banks have meetings this week, we will have to wait until next Thursday to hear from the Bank of England.  The main data that will be of interest this week is the PMIs.  The readings for manufacturing and […]


UK Inflation to fall below 10% with energy price drops

By Greg Smith on Monday, April 17th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Inflation to fall below 10% with energy price drops This week, the focus moves back to data on employment and inflation.  The March price data are forecast to show a decline in inflation, with energy prices falling this year.  This significant fall will be offset by higher food prices and wage costs.  Markets […]


Bank of England hike 25bp – will act if inflation persists

By Greg Smith on Tuesday, March 28th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England hike 0.25%, ready to act if inflation persists Last week, as expected, the Bank of England increased rates by 0.25% to 4.25%.  This was widely anticipated particularly after the jump higher in inflation to 10.4%. This latest hike is the smallest since June last year, which supports the expectations that […]


Bank of England decision likely to be tight amid banking concerns

By Greg Smith on Monday, March 20th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England decision likely to be tight amid banking concerns The focus this week will be on interest rates in the US and the UK.  Before the banking concerns, the markets expected the Bank of England (BoE) to raise rates.  The decision on Thursday and may now be a close call, given […]


UK budget as SVB bank is bought by HSBC

By Greg Smith on Monday, March 13th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – 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, […]


Weekly Report – Autumn Statement as expected, inflation peaks at 11.1%

By Greg Smith on Monday, November 21st, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Autumn Statement as expected, inflation peaks at 11.1% The Autumn Statement was delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week.  In the end, there were no major surprises as so much had been briefed to the markets.  There were measures to increase taxes and cut spending in order to meet fiscal rules and restore […]


Weekly Report – Autumn Statement to outline spending cuts and tax rises

By Greg Smith on Monday, November 14th, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Autumn Statement to outline spending cuts and tax rises The main event this week is the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Thursday.  The fiscal update will come alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The Bank of England’s latest forecasts were a couple of weeks ago, so any differences will be […]


Weekly Report – BoE hike 0.75%, GDP to signal the start of a recession

By Greg Smith on Monday, November 7th, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – BoE hike 0.75%, GDP to signal the start of a recession As expected the Bank of England raised interest rates last week.  The BoE hike of 0.75% was higher than some expected, and several of the members voted for smaller rate hikes.  Overall, the BoE was more ‘dovish’ than markets expected with a […]


Weekly Report – Rishi Sunak new PM, fiscal policy delayed

By Greg Smith on Monday, October 31st, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Rishi Sunak new PM, fiscal policy delayed  Last week, we had confirmation of Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister.  The market has responded positively to the abrupt turnaround in fiscal policy announced by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.  There was no real market concern with the delay of the […]


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