News & Insight

Market Commentary

“Activity is likely to pick up steadily as summer progresses”   UK house prices fell by 0.6% in April, according to new data from Nationwide, marking the first monthly decline since August 2024. This dip follows a surge in transactions during March, as buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of Stamp Duty changes introduced on […]

Market Commentary

“Uncertainty is bad for business” As policymakers gathered in Washington for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva urged countries to act “swiftly” to resolve trade tensions jeopardising global growth. “Uncertainty is bad for business,” Georgieva warned, with tariffs causing companies to delay investment and consumers to […]

Market Commentary

“A global trade war would create renewed inflation, increasing pressure on British families”   Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week showed UK inflation eased in March. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.6% in the year to March, down from a 2.8% rise in the 12 months to February. […]

Market Commentary

“We want to secure the best deal possible for British jobs and British industry”   After a tumultuous time for global markets following his Liberation Day announcement last Wednesday, President Trump took to social media to reveal a 90-day suspension on most of the tariffs, plus a lowering of reciprocal tariffs. Despite a lack of […]

Market Commentary

“This is one of the most important days… in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence” On what Trump called ‘Liberation Day’ last Wednesday, the US president disrupted the global trade system by introducing tariffs of more than 40% on key trading partners. From 5 April, most countries trading with the US faced a […]

Market Commentary

“The global economy has become more uncertain”   Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the government’s Spring Statement on 26 March, with spending cuts taking centre stage – and no further tax rises announced. As had been widely expected, Ms Reeves announced further reductions to welfare spending within a package of reforms designed to raise £14bn by […]

Market Commentary

“We have to be quite careful at this point in how we calibrate our response”   Last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held Bank Rate at 4.5%, a widely expected move but one that was more emphatically supported than analysts had predicted.   At its meeting on 19 March, eight MPC […]

Market Commentary

“The economy shrank a little in January but grew in the latest three months as a whole”   The UK economy shrank unexpectedly in January, according to official data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). With a contraction of 0.1%, the economy fared worse at the start of 2025 than analysts […]

Market Commentary

“February’s figures highlight the delicate balance within the UK housing market”   The most recent House Price Index data from Halifax released on Friday showed an unexpected fall of 0.1% in February; a Reuters poll of economists had expected a 0.3% uptick in the month. Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax said, “The typical […]

Market Commentary

A trade deal between the UK and US could be agreed “very quickly,” President Donald Trump said at a White House press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The President suggested the UK may avoid the tariffs imposed on other trading partners, raising hopes of a favourable agreement. The Prime Minister presented President Trump with […]

Market Commentary

The latest inflation figures released last Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics showed an unexpected surge, with the headline rate climbing to 3% in January from December’s 2.5%, marking the highest level in nearly a year. This increase surpassed the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target and exceeded economists’ forecasts of a rise to […]

Market Commentary

The latest UK growth data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the economy grew by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, exceeding expectations. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast that gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink by 0.1% in the period. The main contributor to GDP growth was the service sector, […]