Economics

Stocks are falling in London, as traders rush to sell following last night’s hike in US interest rates. It is the worst performance since Sept 2016. When the markets opened for trading the FTSE 100 shed 119 points (1.6%), which is a new 28-month low of 6646 points. Over in the US, Wall Street stocks slumped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates, sending major indices to fresh 2018 lows, even as the US central bank signaled it...

Britain risks slipping from being the world's fifth-biggest economy, when it is due to leave the European Union, with France and Indian on course to overtake it, accountancy firm PwC said. It is thought that France and India will overtake the UK economy. The accountancy firm projected economic growth in 2019 of 1.6 per cent for Britain -- assuming the country manages to avoid the shock of a no-deal Brexit in March against 7.6 per cent of India and 1.7 % for France. "The...

Jaguar Land Rover's announcement that it plans to axe up to 5,000 jobs shows a "Brexit bomb is exploding over Britain’s manufacturing industry", The Independent's Chief Business Commentator James Moore has said. The car manufacturer said it will be making thousands of job cuts in the new year as part of a £2.5 billion savings plan to ward off the threat from Brexit, falling sales in China and a drop in demand for diesel cars. Britain’s biggest carmaker employs 40,000 in the...

It isn’t good news for travellers at UK airports as tourists are being offered almost one pound for one dollar. The rate is always poor at airports compared to other currency exchange outlets,however this is a clear indication of the trouble sterling is in. Those exchanging pounds at the UK's biggest airport, Heathrow, are finding as little as $1.05 coming back across the counter. Since 16 April the pound has fallen by 11.77% against the US dollar. In some currency...

Uncertainty caused by Brexit is causing buyers and sellers to sit tight in increasing numbers across the UK, according to the November 2018 RICS UK Residential Market Survey. Looking at London, the results from the latest survey continue to show a weaker trend in sales with demand and supply falling once again, as almost half of respondents to the survey across the UK as a whole cite political uncertainty caused by Brexit as impacting the UK housing market.  The number...

Sterling fell to a new 20-month low against the Dollar on Tuesday and it looks like the on-going turmoil is not going to steady the currency for the foreseeable future. Compared to the Euro it was at a three and a half month low. Now with the PM facing a vote of no confidence, the stormy financial weather looks set to continue. Commenting on Sterling’s performance in the wake of the no-confidence announcement, Andy Scott, Associate Director at JCRA, the...

The pound fell to an 18 month low against the dollar after Theresa May called off a vote in Parliament on her Brexit plan. May is now seeking to reschedule the vote on the terms of the U.K.'s exit from the European Union. However, the uncertainty meant the pound fell 0.5% versus the dollar to $1.2664. Commenting on the fall in Sterling following Theresa May’s plans to delay Parliament’s meaningful vote on her Brexit deal, Andy Scott, Associate Director at JCRA,...

The pound is shackled by Brexit drama, is locked in a holding pattern, and nothing is currently priced in, warns the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. The warning from Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, comes as sterling remains vulnerable to every twist and turn to the political saga over the UK’s exit of the European Union. Mr Green comments: “The pound has been and remains the primary market bellwether since...

The warning came after four gangsters were jailed for 15 years after tricking Chinese students into giving them access to their bank accounts.