[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Philip Hammond started off with a remark that Chancellors in his position rarely get to make during a Budget announcement; a higher than expected growth of 2% for the UK economy, up from 1.4%. During his speech, he announced that National Insurance contributions for the self-employed is to increase by 1 per cent to 10 […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Firstly, a new opinion poll ahead of the upcoming French Presidential elections has suggested that the National Front candidate, Marine Le Pen, is gaining popularity amongst the electorate. Whilst there also remains a strong sentiment for the newly emerged Socialist candidate, ex-banker Emmanuel Macron, many feel his initial surge of popularity has now begun to […]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”2948″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]It was another strong day for the pound after a sluggish start saw it gain 1% on the euro and 0.5% on the dollar as many investors believe that the BOE may hint at raising interest rates soon when they meet at their quarterly inflation meeting today. With many suggesting Brexit-related caution, […]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”3034″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]The euro managed to find support from stronger than expected industrial production activity in the Eurozone. Since the beginning of January, the currency has enjoyed a strong recovery against the US dollar as the economy improves, with most of the data surprising economists. Data coming out of Germany yesterday confirmed the improved […]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”3024″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text] Sterling weakness continues Last week’s currency movements could potentially be a preview of what to expect for 2017. The US dollar showed sensitivity to Fed announcements after the release of December’s FOMC meeting minutes. Meanwhile, Sterling remained on the back foot and performed poorly in most currency pairings for […]

The pound lost ground yesterday, following surprise news that the EU ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers had resigned.

With the pound falling 16% against the euro since the Brexit referendum result, many potential buyers of French property are understandably reluctant/hesitant to crystallise the loss in the value of the pound when committing sterling to finance their house purchase in France.

In a week’s time, we’ll find out who the next US president will be, and understandably politics is clearly overshadowing economics at the moment. The latest poll from ABC News/Washington Post showed Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump neck and neck, with Donald Trump leading by a single percentage point, at 46% to 45% – Trump’s […]

Friday’s data over the pond showed that the US economy grew at its fastest pace for 2 years in the 3rd quarter of this year, giving the Federal Reserve a huge backing with regards to their likely interest rate change in December. The growth was predicted to be around 2.5% but they outdone themselves with […]

For a nice difference, we actually saw some strength in Sterling following the positive comment from a UK government lawyer that any Brexit deal would likely need to be ratified by the UK Parliament