Jan 30, 2021 | Newsletter
Pfizer and BioNTech recently announced that their coronavirus vaccine had been stunningly successful in trials. Moderna followed a week later, and then AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The stock market looks ahead and it’s not hard to see that a vaccinated world...
Jan 30, 2021 | Newsletter
BP (BP.L) and Shell (RDSB.L) rose recently, amid reports that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies were close to agreeing a freeze on oil output. OPEC is nearing a consensus, according to Bloomberg, after rejecting Russia’s...
Jan 27, 2021 | Newsletter
The UK’s surging housing market could go into sharp reverse next year if the stamp duty holiday is not extended, risking a damaging slump, the government has been told. The £3.8bn stamp duty giveaway unveiled in July has been credited with fuelling a mini-boom in the...
Jan 24, 2021 | Newsletter
Business leaders have warned that a Brexit “tidal wave” of red tape is going to hit British industry on 1 January even if a trade deal is struck in the coming days. The Confederation of British Industry deputy director general Josh Hardie pleaded with the UK and EU to...
Jan 21, 2021 | Newsletter
The UK is in the midst of an economic crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting the country in a double dip recession. The concerning state of the economy was once again highlighted recently as the national debt jumped to more than £2 trillion. The...
Jan 18, 2021 | Newsletter
House prices were predicted to fall as soon as lockdown hit, but that hasn’t really panned out. The stamp duty holiday is being cited as a potential reason, so it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on prices when that ends. Commentators point out that...
Jan 15, 2021 | Newsletter
On 31st December, the post-Brexit transition period ends and, with or without a free trade deal with the European Union, the UK will start life outside the EU’s single market and customs union. That will, pretty much all economists tell us, have a substantial economic...
Jan 12, 2021 | Newsletter
When allocating funds in a portfolio, one of the questions investors face is whether to use active or passive funds. Simply put, active managers try to beat their benchmark. They will try to pick the best countries, sectors or stocks, and gather them up in a portfolio...
