Who actually sets interest rates around the world?
Given the ongoing economic crises in various countries around the world, attention at the moment is rightly more focused on interest rate decisions than in normal times. The process for raising or lowering interest rates varies from country to country. For some, it’s a pretty simple decision made by the Finance Minister, for others, it […]
Italy’s new government and the Eurozone
On Saturday 22nd October following another set of early elections in Italy, a government consisting of four right-wing political parties was sworn into office. The leader is Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia, a party that emerged from the neo-fascist movements of the 70s and 80s. Meloni is Italy’s first female Prime Minister […]
BoE Governor: Expect 13%+ Inflation and a Recession!
The key update of the week is that the Bank of England has increased its interest rate by 0.5%, the largest increase since the Bank’s operational independence in 1997. The rate rise comes on the back of a dismal economic forecast by the BoE that forecasted inflation rates of 13% by the end of the […]
Fears of recession loom as inflation spirals and confidence declines
This week has been dominated by the fears of a looming recession following the release of key GDP and confidence data. Significant news was released on Thursday when it emerged that the US economy shrank for a second consecutive quarter. This technical recession is due to a 0.9% GDP contraction for Q2 following a 1.6% […]
Interest rate rises in the Eurozone & Canada
It has been a big week in the EU with plenty of data and political action. The ECB has increased interest rates by 0.5%, the first rate rise in the Eurozone since 2011. It comes at a time when inflation has hit record highs of 8.6% and the economic gulf between member states is widening. […]
Euro hits parity with USD for first time since 2002
Unsurprisingly, inflation continues to be the topic of the moment with figures announced Wednesday showing US prices rising 9.1% in June compared to a year ago, the highest rate in 40 years. Wednesday’s result was surprisingly higher than consensus estimates of 8.8%. Inflation continued to be led by large food and fuel price increases but […]
Who is next to join the European Union?
The European Union hasn’t finished expanding, there are actually several countries who are in the process of joining right now! Any country who joins is legally obliged via EU treaty to replace their own domestic currency with the Euro. Following recent news that both Ukraine and Moldova were granted ‘EU candidate status’ we’ll take a […]
Markets react to the resignation of Boris Johnson
This week’s major story is that British PM Boris Johnson has resigned after 59 of his ministers quit within 48 hours. The flurry of resignations followed news that Mr Johnson knew about a history of sexual misconduct concerning Assistant Whip Chris Pincher. Mr Johnson intends to remain as PM until the autumn. Sterling reaction to […]
Which are the world’s major reserve currencies?
A reserve currency is one that is held in large numbers by a foreign country’s central bank or monetary authority. Reserve currencies are held for a number of reasons including: To minimise exchange rate risks To sure up the domestic currency To make complex international payments between countries To help, support and facilitate global trade […]
Westminster wrangling distracts from ongoing economic woes
The ongoing cost of living crisis and domestic politics have dominated the agenda this week in the UK. The bunting from last weekend’s spectacular Platinum Jubilee Celebrations hadn’t even been packed away before the news was out that the Prime Minister would face a vote of no confidence on Monday. We discussed this in an […]