Autumn Budget 2017: Chancellor Philip Hammond’s speech in full November 22, 2017 You can read the chancellor's Budget speech in full here: Mr Deputy Speaker I report today on an economy that continues to grow, continues to create more jobs than ever before and continues to confound those who seek to talk it down. An economy set on a path to a new relationship with our European [...]
How the Budget could affect your personal finances, and what you should do if it does November 22, 2017 Philip Hammond hasn’t got it easy. Putting a Budget together is difficult at the best of times, but with Brexit looming large over the UK, producing a financial plan for our economy is now a hell of a lot harder. In such an uncertain time, how can Hammond hope to offer the stability the [...]
World pension ages on the rise: when will you retire? December 1, 2017 State pension ages are rising around the world. Most countries will increase the point at which people can withdraw payments to 67 in coming decades. Some governments have been more aggressive. The UK and Ireland will increase the age to 68, and the British government has indicated that more even higher ages are inevitable. The [...]
Budget watchdogs warn another financial crisis would destroy government deficit plans July 13, 2017 The government will miss its targets for reducing the spending deficit by “wide margins” if there is another big financial shock, the Treasury’s independent budget watchdog has warned. In a report on the risks facing the UK economy, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) today said a scenario similar to the financial crisis a decade [...]
UK inflation rises, adding to pressure on rates October 20, 2017 There are two key domestic issues this week for UK financial markets. One is the latest inflation news and the implications for interest rates. The second is the ongoing Brexit discussions and what might the latest phase imply for settling. Let's focus here on the inflation news. This week's data release showed that inflation rose [...]
General Election 2017: Forget the outrage, Prime Minister Theresa May should not have U-turned on social care May 23, 2017 When is a U-turn not a U-turn? When it’s made by strong and stable Prime Minister Theresa May, of course, who insisted yesterday that her sudden pledge to cap the amount of money people will pay towards their social care was in no way a change of tack. The Tory leader put on an impressive [...]
What needs to change about housing policy by UK property professionals ahead of party conference season September 15, 2017 Katherine McCullough, development director at Merchant Land “During the political party season, I would like to see some attention given to reviewing what Osborne’s stamp duty reforms have achieved and ideally, to have them reversed in order to help stimulate the housing market at the top end. It would also be encouraging to hear discussion [...]
British pound sterling falls against the US dollar (USD) as British retail sales plummet at fastest quarterly rate since 2010 | City A.M. April 21, 2017 Retail sales in the UK fell at the sharpest quarterly rate for seven years in March as price increases started to weigh on the British consumer. Sales fell by 1.8 per cent during the month while store prices grew by 3.3 per cent, the fastest rate of growth since March 2012, according to the Office [...]
British pound sterling falls against the US dollar (USD) as British retail sales plummet at fastest quarterly rate since 2010 | City A.M. April 21, 2017 Retail sales in the UK fell at the sharpest quarterly rate for seven years in March as price increases started to weigh on the British consumer. Sales fell by 1.8 per cent during the month while store prices grew by 3.3 per cent, the fastest rate of growth since March 2012, according to the Office [...]
Inflation is striking back – and it will have implications for our politics February 7, 2017 Over the last two years, thanks to a low oil price, many economies have been living under a low-inflation illusion. 2017 looks set to be the year inflation strikes back. Rumbles of protectionism, uncertainty over Brexit, and Donald Trump’s expansionary fiscal policy all point to growing inflationary pressures further down the line. But immediate factors [...]