News

The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged yesterday at 3.75%, as falling oil prices eased some of the inflation risks created by the recent Middle East conflict. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 7–2 to hold rates, with two members favouring a small increase due to concerns that higher energy costs could still feed into wages and business pricing. Oil prices had surged when the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted earlier in the year, but they have since declined followin

This week’s client update comes to you a day early. Global equity markets continue to be dominated by developments in artificial intelligence and the broader technology sector, but the latest news flow underlines just how unsettled and unpredictable this part of the market has become. I appreciate that I wrote about artificial intelligence (AI) stocks last week and I do not want this to get boring, however no sooner had we issued last weeks newsletter, than we had strong jobs

In our ongoing political saga, Andy Burnham has formally indicated that he will enter a Labour leadership contest if he wins the Makerfield by election on 18 June, saying he would seek to represent the constituency “at the highest possible level”. His comments follow suggestions that Wes Streeting may also be preparing a leadership bid. Under Labour rules, any challenger must be an MP and secure backing from 81 colleagues. Polling for the by election shows Burnham ahead of Re

I am not sure I completely believe the daily news of a possible peace agreement in the Middle East. Each day a different angle on a breakthrough, and then more bombings and harsh words. Again, today I read that the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement to extend the current ceasefire by 60 days while peace talks continue. This comes despite renewed clashes around the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides have exchanged fire as Israel intensifies its operation