Ear to the Ground
Do we ironically owe them an inadvertent thank you? This may appear to be a very strange suggestion in that, given the turmoil that their latest fiscal plans have brought, that we could even start to think that we owe this to Truss and Kwarteng. I am in no way taking any political sides here but bear with me on this one. In our special edition…
Ear to the Ground
Late last week we saw the first what was meant to be mini-Budget from Kwasi Kwarteng, the new UK Chancellor. Given the level and degree of announcements made however you could be mistaken for thinking that it was indeed a full budget. The tax cuts and levels of spending which the government have committed to are now very well publicised.
Ear to the Ground
Central banks took centre stage this week, with interest being set both in the US and here in the UK. The Federal Reserve were the first to the table, where they increased rates by 0.75%. This was in line with expectations, but some market commentators had touted a full 1% rise, a move adopted by Sweden earlier in the week. This takes US rates to the 3%-3.25% range.
Ear to the Ground
It is difficult to not sound like a broken record at the moment but we are currently within an environment which is very data sensitive, driving which way markets move next, at least in the short term. The case in point was made this week in the US. Inflation had been expected to come in at 8.1% year on year to August, but instead posted a reading of 8.3%…
Ear to the Ground
The latest inflation forecast for the UK from Citi took the market by surprise this week. Updated for a further rally in gas and electricity prices, they believe that a further upside shift in inflation is highly probable and that CPI could peak at over 18% in January. This is some way above the 13.3% predicted by the Bank of England in their latest report.
Ear to the Ground
The US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell took markets by surprise at the Jackson Hole Symposium last week. Many market commentators had been expecting him to deliver something of a pivotal moment. A softer stance on monetary policy tightening, in particular interest rate hikes, was envisaged given the softer economic data coming through and fears of a recession.
Ear to the Ground
The latest inflation forecast for the UK from Citi took the market by surprise this week. Updated for a further rally in gas and electricity prices, they believe that a further upside shift in inflation is highly probable and that CPI could peak at over 18% in January. This is some way above the 13.3% predicted by the Bank of England in their latest report.
Ear to the Ground
Droughts, blackouts and potentially an inflation top out. With the UK and Europe in the midst of another heatwave we are hearing of more hose pipe bans and of reservoirs drying up. In Europe the shortage has the potential to become the regions next big enemy.
Ear to the Ground
This week was always going to be about the Bank of England and it indeed proved to be the case. The market fully expected that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would raise rates by 0.5% to 1.75% and they delivered accordingly. This was the largest increase seen in 27 years. This move was supported by eight of the nine committee members…
Ear to the Ground
Something we might be a little bit more reticent to bring home however is the nation’s favourite cheeseburger, after McDonalds announced last week that it will see its first price increase in over 14 years. It wasn’t just a small increase either, with a 20% hike being imposed. The company is also to pass on the cost of higher fuel and ingredients onto other items on their menu.
