The fact that chatter about a wealth tax is increasing to the point where it could become reality in the UK should not be a surprise. But it would be a very odd thing for a Conservative government to be the one to actually implement it.
The International Monetary Fund is worried. Yes, it’s true that it always is, but this time we should be, too — or at least, those of us living in Britain.
OK, let’s set Greece to the side for the moment and turn our attention to second-quarter and first-half earnings. The reporting season kicks off towards the end of this month, and analysts say there may be some nice surprises in Europe.
If you’re going on holiday to Europe and haven’t yet bought any euros, maybe you should hurry. Unless Greece really exits the eurozone (and that can still happen), the pound’s advance versus the euro seems limited from here on.
Ever since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, austerity has dominated the UK budget. It was a policy introduced to reduce the yawning budget deficit, which made the country vulnerable to attacks from the bond vigilantes.
The FTSE 100 closed at a new record high, exceeding the previous record high it had set on December 30, 1999. And suddenly, taxi drivers in London can be heard once again saying that they’re thinking about investing in shares.
Many players in the UK housing market are anticipating with glee the moment in April when pensioners will be allowed to cash in their pension pots and buy property to let it on.
Already in a bubble, this will mean UK home prices will rise even further.
With the UK election getting close, it is becoming more and more obvious that the extremist UKIP party is doing the country more harm than good, especially from a business point of view.
Oil prices have always had a big political component, but it seems that increasingly they also have a financial, speculative one. And if this means oil stays cheaper for longer, we may be in for a very strong economic boom.
The fall in oil prices has pushed the energy sector to a record underweight, a recent survey among fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch showed.