As we learned in 2015/16 China can have a considerable effect on the global economy and financial markets, so it pays to keep on top of the macro currents there. At the moment the early signs of decelerating growth in manufacturing and trade, and a slowing of property price gains raise question marks on the [...]

According to the IMF, China has the fastest growing major economy in the world with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years. At the end of 2017, China’s economy was the 2nd largest in the world by nominal GDP and the world’s biggest by purchasing power parity next to the USA. This world [...]

China stabilised its economic ship in 2017, and conceivably most crucially, the credit binge appears to be waning. JPMorgan thinks that China’s debt-to-output ratio fell for the first time in six years in the second quarter of last year. Yet despite this, several top market analysts included a potential China slowdown in their assessment [...]

The UK's inflation rate has fallen this week for the first time since June. The inflation rate dipped to 3% in December, down from November's rate of 3.1% - a six-year high, as had been expected by the market. "The fall-back in CPI inflation from 3.1% in November to 3% in December marks the beginning [...]

The MiFID II regulations which were expected to come in last Friday are now anticipated to be delayed for at least of 3 months as the regulator looks to work with trading venues to compile the data necessary to make the measure successful. MiFID II an extensive piece of legislation. It’s an updated version of [...]

INCOME Wage growth averaged just 2.2% per household for much of 2017 and there is little sign of change coming. This means that household budgets are expected to stay strained throughout 2018. According to the Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report, consumers are much more concerned about the state of the economy and their wages than [...]

Inflation rose to 3.1% in November, which is the highest rate in almost six years while the most recent data shows that average weekly wages are growing at just 2.2%. The annual inflation rate has more than doubled from 1.2% to 3.1% in the past year – its highest level since March 2012 – mainly [...]

Bitcoin hit the $15,000 threshold for the first time today. The cryptocurrency has experienced an incredible surge in value; at the beginning of 2017, a single Bitcoin was worth under $800. The new record high comes after the announcement last week that a US regulator agreed to let two traditional exchanges, CME Group and CBOE [...]

Britain has agreed to fully honour its financial commitments as identified by Brussels. Currently, neither the UK government nor the EU have put a figure on the total amount but estimates imply that the payment will amount to about €40bn on a net basis. The Brexit Bill payment had been one of the main sticking [...]

Yesterday, Phillip Hammond delivered his third budget as Chancellor and also the first UK Autumn Budget in twenty years. With the triggering of Article 50 and the snap General Election in June, the UK economy has withstood a series of significant shifts over the past year. The main headline grabbing news from the Budget was [...]