How Sterling changed during the Queen’s reign
As the period of mourning for Her late Majesty the Queen comes to an end, we thought it would be fitting to take a look at how the Pound Sterling has changed over the course of her long 70 year reign. The 10 shilling note was the first to feature the Queens image Banknotes with […]
August was officially Sterling’s worst month since Brexit
As September began yesterday, we saw the official conclusion that August had been the worst month for Sterling since the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. August started with Sterling sitting at £1.21 to the US Dollar but over the course of month saw a slow and steady decline, ending down at £1.16. Not a good […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A summer of discontent?
The biggest news this week came yesterday when the ONS released data showing that inflation had gone up once again in the UK. It is now sitting at a 40-year high of 9.1%. (The last time inflation was this high, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and Charles and Diana had only recently got married.) The […]
A turbulent week for the UK economy
It’s been another difficult week for the UK economy. Figures released this week showed that in April, the UK economy shrank by 0.3%, following on from the 0.1% contraction in March. This has led to a number of influential figures including a former Chancellor suggesting the UK was almost certainly headed for a recession. We […]
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 […]
Why Monday’s Tory leadership vote could signal trouble for the UK’s markets.
If there is one thing that markets hate, it’s instability. If they know change is coming, even if it’s potentially radical, it can be factored in, accounted for and the potential storm can be weathered. A surprise however is never welcome. On Monday, the UK Prime Minister won a vote of confidence from his party, […]
No10 parties, energy bills and rising prices… again!
If you get a sense of deja-vous when reading this, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Once again this week has been dominated by parties in Downing Street, energy bills and the cost of living crisis affecting the UK (and the rest of the world.) The week started with the big news that Australia […]