Rates cut, our 40th and Afternoon Tea
So the FCA is issuing a hefty fine of £46million on Mr Neil Woodford and his Company. He is being banned from senior management roles and managing funds for private individuals – ouch. He is appealing (or perhaps to the FCA (which is also investigating his latest unregulated investment tipping activities) is that he...
Chancellor tears but not for us
So, very unconvincingly the Prime Minister supporting the Chancellor’s dire financial announcements brought the wrong sort of tears to her eyes, promptly seeing the cost of long-term UK Government debt rise by a whopping 5% and Sterling losing a cent instantly. Fortunately that was short-lived but we’re still paying far more than at the...
Inflation remains stubborn
So, inflation remain stubbornly high at 3.4% despite people not feeling especially confident about spending. So much of our outgoings now go towards ‘tax’ of course and we don’t have any control over that (but government does)… So businesses and organisations are obliged to increase their prices to cover increased costs (especially employment but...
Market news and investment
Meta and Microsoft both topped analysts’ expectations for latest quarter’s results at the same time the US economy suffered a regression of 0.3% in the first quarter’s ‘growth’ – apparently nothing whatsoever to do with President Trump of course and his actions of late.
Gold has come-off its top – an over-extended spike it might...
Growth, debt and the Titanic…
I was reminded recently that on 14 April it was the anniversary of the Titanic hitting the iceberg, in 1912. Had it hit it head-on, it would not have sunk. Are there analogies here for President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements…?
This is either the fact that 90% of the problem isn’t obvious or maybe that...
Off-piste, risk and the economy
Having grabbed a week to visit Chamonix and on one day to travel up to Aiguille du Midi (3,842 metres) to view Mont Blanc (4,805metres), gave me an opportunity to see ‘risk’ in a different context. The height, the highest I have ever been excluding flights, puts risk in a different perspective altogether
The engineering...
Sterling effort, investment and taxes
The US Dollar’s the lowest against Sterling since April 2022. That’s a 20% ascent for Sterling since the Sept 2022 low. It has been weaker these last few weeks as it is expected that interest rates will be cut even though US inflation readings are mixed. Currency volatility can work for you or against...
