Autumn Statement TL;DR? Here’s our at-a-glance guide November 23, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond spoke for around an hour while delivering today's Autumn Statement. If you don't have time for that, here's our at-a-glance overview of the announcements you need to know: Economics, public spending and politics The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast for growth increased to 2.1 per cent, up from two per cent, for 2016, but [...]
What does your gender pay gap say about your business? August 3, 2016 Despite a tumultuous time in recent weeks dominated by the EU referendum, the gender pay gap is still very much on employers' minds. It's an issue that companies can't continue to ignore – and not just because of growing public scrutiny. Employees will increasingly look at published gender pay gap data to reveal a company's [...]
Annual portfolio review pointers your adviser ought to embrace November 23, 2017 With the holiday season drawing near, the end of 2017 is close at hand. To many investors, this is a sign that it’s time to review portfolios and potentially rejig for the new year. From a professional’s perspective, this is welcome. It is refreshing to have investors engaged in discussing portfolio returns. But to make [...]
We’re going to build Crossrail 2 and the private sector is going to pay for it April 3, 2017 Passengers crammed on to the Central, District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines are gasping for the opening of the Elizabeth Line, running from west to east, from Heathrow to Canary Wharf and beyond, late next year. But what about Londoners packed on to the north-south Northern, Victoria, Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines who suffer from similar over-crowding [...]
Bank of England launches new (voluntary, not legally binding) code of conduct for money market traders April 26, 2017 The Bank of England has launched a new code of integrity for all British participants in the money markets. The code’s guidelines will only be voluntary for traders in markets for deposits, repos and securities lending, so will not be legally binding. The UK Money Markets Code aims to “promote integrity and effective functioning” by [...]
Is South Korea still an investment ‘value trap’? June 23, 2017 ‘Value trap’ is a term used by investors to describe an asset that appears to have been under-priced by the market but turns out to be cheap for a reason. This is often because its ability to make profits has in some way been severely and permanently impaired. It tends to be used in relation [...]
The league table of safest cars holds a lesson for investors June 6, 2017 Here’s a quick multiple-choice question: What single quality do you look for most in a new car? A) Top-of-the-range sound-system. B) The ability to accelerate from 0 to 60mph is under five seconds. C) Cup-holders for all passengers. D) The reassurance that you and your passengers have a better than average chance of reaching your [...]
Investment trust winners of 2017 January 11, 2018 Investment trusts enjoyed healthy investment returns last year, with funds focused on Japan delivering some of the best returns in 2017, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trusts vs open-ended funds. Here we [...]
The FTSE in 2017: six charts that tell the story so far July 25, 2017 The FTSE 100, 250 and All-Share indices have all made strong gains and reached record highs in the first half of 2017. The strong performance of London-listed shares is somewhat surprising given the backdrop – June’s snap general election arguably left the government in a weaker position going into Brexit negotiations, while household finances are [...]
London’s Tory MPs band together to battle business rate plans February 21, 2017 London's Tory MPs are banding together to propose reforms to business rates as the pressure builds on chancellor Philip Hammond. Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond told City A.M. that MPs were reflecting the fact that capital business faces some of the steepest increases in the country. “The pressure is building at a time when it's very difficult [...]