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Money Week

Currency Corner: what the Tory landslide means for the pound

There is really only one story in the foreign exchange markets today – and that has to be the pound.

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party was re-elected yesterday with a larger than expected majority.

Whether it’s John Bercow, Philip Hammond, Dominic Grieve, Chukka Umunna or Anna ...

yesterday 17:05 open_in_new
Markets are in a festive mood

“Politics creates short-term volatility,” but “at the end of the day the business cycle matters above all”, Andrew Milligan of Aberdeen Standard Investments tells Michael Mackenzie in the Financial Times. “Political and protectionist noise” has repeatedly rattled markets this year, ...

yesterday 14:59 open_in_new
Australia looks to be heading for quantitative easing

Will Australia be the next big economy to join the quantitative easing (QE) club? Slowing growth has prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the country’s central bank, to cut interest rates three times this year to a record low of 0.75%. Yet with few signs of an economic revival, there ...

yesterday 14:59 open_in_new
The bond bubble has yet again failed to burst

2019 looks set to go down as the year in which the bond bubble yet again failed to burst, says Sid Verma on Bloomberg. An almighty rally in debt markets this year saw as much as $17trn in government, and some corporate, debt trading at negative yields by late August.

Bond yields rise as ...

yesterday 12:53 open_in_new
Why the Conservative victory is good news for investors

Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can profit.

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That’s it.

The votes are ...

yesterday 10:47 open_in_new
Share tips of the week

MoneyWeek’s comprehensive guide to the best of this week’s share tips from the rest of the UK’s financial pages.

The Sunday Telegraph

“Music, books and video” are shifting onto tablets so fast that come Christmas morning Father Christmas has “very little to leave ...

yesterday 09:44 open_in_new
Paul Volcker: the banking ace who crushed inflation

Paul Volcker, who died last week aged 92, was an inspirational figure whose controversial policies helped inaugurate the modern era.

If anyone came to epitomise the power of the independent central banker before the phenomenon became fashionable it was Paul Volcker, the former ...

yesterday 08:41 open_in_new
Money Minute Friday 13 December: election results day

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By the time you watch this video, we should know the results of the UK’s general election.

That’s likely to be the dominant influence in UK markets today, particularly as there’s little in the way of ...

yesterday 07:38 open_in_new
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco IPO falls short of expectations

Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, has finally made it to market. But the regime struggled mightily to get it there. 

The world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) has finally reached the Saudi stock exchange, say Kate Kelly and Stanley Reed in The New York Times. The ...

yesterday 07:38 open_in_new
Yet more fiscal stimulus announced in Japan

Japan’s latest stimulus is to heal a “self-inflicted wound”, says Megumi Fujikawa for The Wall Street Journal. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced a ¥13.2trn (£97.9bn) fiscal package to finance the repair of damage caused by October’s Typhoon Hagibis, put new digital technology ...

2019-12-12 19:59 open_in_new
EU throws green spanner in the works of global trade

Europe has big plans for the environment – but making them work without damaging world trade will be a challenge.

Europe is about to “stake its economic future on an environmental clean-up that will overhaul the way the world’s biggest single market polices businesses and manages ...

2019-12-12 19:59 open_in_new
The Pacific Alliance is in the bargain basement. Buy it now

The recent political turmoil in Latin America doesn’t change the auspicious long-term economic outlook for Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. It spells opportunity for contrarian investors, says James McKeigue.

Have you had an exciting year? The Pacific Alliance certainly has. Since I ...

2019-12-12 16:50 open_in_new
Britain is actually in pretty good shape

This has been a more than usually bad-tempered election campaign. We are going to press just as it ends, so as I write, I’m afraid I still don’t know what the outcome is. However, here’s what we do know: regardless of who has how many seats in Parliament this morning, they are starting in ...

2019-12-12 16:50 open_in_new
Another nasty shock for investors in property funds

In 2016, open-ended commercial property funds shut their doors amid panic over Brexit. Last week, it happened again. It’s as if these funds aren’t up to the job, says John Stepek.

If we had to choose a word to sum up the most important theme in investment this year, it might be ...

2019-12-12 16:50 open_in_new
It’s inflation or bust as far as the Federal Reserve is concerned

Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can profit.

Sign up free here.

We won’t worry about the election today. ...

2019-12-12 12:38 open_in_new
Money Minute Thursday 12 December: the most important election of the century so far

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There’s only one story in the UK this morning – it’s the day Britain goes to the polls. It’s no exaggeration to say that this election is probably the most important of the century so far. If the ruling ...

2019-12-12 11:35 open_in_new
Mini-bonds could spell big trouble for small investors

Investors have been seduced by the high interest rates on mini-bonds, but they’re not as safe as they seem.

Last week the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services regulator, announced that it was finally cracking down on mini-bonds. As of January 2020, they will no ...

2019-12-11 17:44 open_in_new
Don’t get caught by the pension contributions cap

It’s easier to breach your annual pension contributions allowance than you might think. Here’s how to make sure  you don’t go over it.

Thousands of savers may face an unexpected tax bill and late payment charges because they have unwittingly contributed too much to their ...

2019-12-11 13:32 open_in_new
Why traders should believe in Santa Claus

This article is taken from our FREE daily investment email Money Morning. Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can ...

2019-12-11 12:29 open_in_new
Great frauds in history: Takafumi Horie and Livedoor

Born in the city of Yame in 1972, Takafumi Horie studied at the University of Tokyo before dropping out to found Livin’ on the Edge (renamed Livedoor in 2004), a web-services start-up that went public in 2000. Its rapidly-growing profits and soaring share price allowed it to go on series of ...

2019-12-11 12:29 open_in_new
Money Minute Wednesday 11 December: all eyes on America’s central bank

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Today the focus will be on the Federal Reserve which announces its latest decision on US interest rates this evening, UK time. Given the strength of the most recent employment data, the Fed is extremely unlikely to ...

2019-12-11 09:20 open_in_new