Contact

News & Insights

NEWS WRAP – Interest Rate Debate – Trust in Growth or Manage Risk?

Employment data from the Office for National Statistics further underlined the positive mood, with the UK unemployment rate unchanged at 3.8 per cent. The figures showed the employment rate at an all-time high of 76.3 per cent, thanks to a 208,000 increase in the number of people in employment during the quarter.**

Interest rates may be approaching an all-time low but, given the overall economic picture, many argued that it was hard to see how the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could justify interest rate cuts at a time of such unfettered growth.

However, others speculated that an interest rate cut would be a sound strategy to manage economic risks in the short to medium term, rather than delaying a rate cut until the economic picture had deteriorated. Furthermore, as the deadline neared for the Bank of England’s decision, other factors came into play, not least the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China as well as the situation at telecommunications giant BT, which saw a 3% drop in revenues in the last quarter, and a 4% fall in core profits which they largely attribute to the impact of the Huawei ruling.***

Furthermore, it was also reported that the number of personal insolvencies in the UK reached its highest level since 2010, with the Insolvency Service reporting 122,181 personal insolvencies in 2019 – up 6% on 2018.

In the end Mark Carney, in his last major act as governor of the Bank of England, announced the MPC’s decision to opt against an interest rate cut but, as many news outlets reported, it had been a knife-edge decision.

Blacktower FM, managing risk to protect and grow your wealth

Blacktower Financial Management (International) Ltd. provides qualified and regulated advice to expats across Europe to help them prepare for a brighter financial and retirement future.

We have offices across Europe, as well as in the UK and have been providing wealth management advice for more than thirty years. Contact your local office today for independent international financial advice which takes into consideration all the local and national economic factors relevant to your personal situation.

* https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index/

** https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment

*** https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-outlook/bt-warns-of-500-million-pounds-hit-from-british-limits-on-huawei-idUKKBN1ZT0MJ

**** https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jan/30/personal-insolvencies-jump-to-nine-year-high-in-england-and-wales

Other News

New Year resolutions for a fitter financial future

Goals for 2018Well, you have probably already swept away the party poppers and Champagne corks, but now is the time to reflect on 2017 and consider the future.

It’s also, of course, the time to make New Year resolutions. For most people, such ‘resolutions’ are often ambitious, unrealistic and maybe even harmful (I mean, giving up chocolate – that’s never going to happen).

In fact, research from the University of Scranton, USA, in 2013 found that a mere 8% of people achieve their New Year goals, and a ComRes poll from November 2015 revealed that 43% of all the failed resolutions that year hadn’t even lasted a month.

It seems that the typical pledges of eating more healthily, taking up a new hobby and giving up bad habits are really not achievable and it’s becoming increasingly common for resolutions to be financially related.

Read More

Job opportunities rapidly accelerate in France

The Eiffel TowerAs a popular destination for British expats, France offers many opportunities and can provide a high quality of life, with lots of exciting opportunities. And now it appears that there are burgeoning employment opportunities as well.

Like so many other countries, France was hit hard by the financial crisis of 2008 and the country’s economy was damaged, as was its job market. However, France has made a gradual recovery and new statistics suggest that recently its pace of recovery has rapidly accelerated.

Research from RegionsJob has shown that the number of jobs being created in France shot up to 200,000 in the third quarter of 2017, which is an increase of over 40% when compared with the same period in 2016. France has not seen as many vacancies created since the financial crisis.

Read More

Select your country

Please select your country of residence so we can provide you with the most relevant information:

You are currently viewing the Blacktower Financial Management EU website.

You may be looking for the Blacktower United States website.

Blacktower United States > X Stay on this site

Or choose your country.