UK Retail sales fall by 1% adding to the gloom

By Greg Smith on Monday, January 23rd, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – 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 […]


Increase in GDP could see the UK avoid recession

By Greg Smith on Monday, January 16th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – 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 […]


Weekly Report – Positive markets as inflation peak seen

By Greg Smith on Monday, January 9th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – 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 […]


Weekly Report – Dovish split as Bank of England hikes 0.5%

By Greg Smith on Monday, December 19th, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – 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 […]


Weekly Report – Inflation data suggests further consumer pain

By Greg Smith on Monday, December 5th, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Inflation data suggests further consumer pain The British Retail Consortium data last week showed a further acceleration in general shopping and food price inflation.  There was also data from the Bank of England showing a continued slowdown in mortgage activity and consumer borrowing. All of this activity has fed into recent surveys showing […]


Weekly Report – Markets are calmer with slower hikes expected

By Greg Smith on Monday, November 28th, 2022

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Markets calmer with slowing in monetary policy hikes expected The volatility has reduced somewhat over the last few weeks, with the markets calmer with the government and budget.  The markets are expecting an earlier easing in the pace of monetary policy tightening. This has seen 10-year gilt yields fall below 3% for the […]


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