-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image: HM Treasury. The developments presented the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a choice of either cutting spending or raising taxes to ensure she meets her rule that debt falls in the coming years. Rachel Reeves chose to cut welfare spending and, in doing so, regained a wafer-thin £9.9BN in headroom on her debt rule.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Picture by Kirsty O'Connor / Treasury Financial markets will welcome a decision by the government to cut spending on welfare, say analysts. Welfare budget and departmental spending cuts now look certain to be announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Rachel Reeves is set to announce the moves in three weeks, when she presents the Office for Budget Responsibility's Spring Forecast.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Images SkyCity records an NZ$143m loss, with the threat of NZ regulation and licensed competition looming. SkyCity, the only land-based casino chain in New Zealand, with five locations, has reported a significant financial downturn for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2024, with a net loss after tax of NZ$143.3 million.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image: Doug Turetsky. Sourced: Flikr, licensing: CC 2.0. Barclays has revised down its U.S. economic growth forecast for 2025 while raising its inflation projections, citing escalating trade policy uncertainty and higher tariffs under the Trump administration. The bank now expects U.S. GDP growth to slow to 0.7% (Q4/Q4) in 2025, down 0.8 percentage points from its previous projection.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Images The Australian dollar is expected to weaken in the coming months as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) finally embarks on a meaningful rate cutting cycle, according to a new report from Commerzbank Research. The RBA cut its cash rate for the first time in this cycle, bringing an end to the longest rate hike cycle in the past 30 years. The RBA's decision to lower rates follows 33 months of tightening, with a cumulative increase of 4.25%.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Images The Pound-to-Dollar exchange rate has retreated to 1.2929 after U.S. inflation undershot expectations, but weakness should prove limited, and the uptrend remains firmly intact. The Dollar was higher alongside news U.S. inflation for February fell to 0.2% month-on-month from 0.5%, undershooting expectations for 0.3%. The annual rate fell to 3.1% from 3.3%, which was also below consensus expectations for 3.2%.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Stock The Aussie Dollar found some support following news that the Chinese government has set an ambitious GDP growth target of "around 5%" for 2025, marking the third consecutive year at this level. The AUD can gain support to the extent that these ambitions improve China's economic outlook.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Stock It's been a remarkable run for GBPCAD, having notched up 14 daily advances in the past 15 trading days, and on the day it didn't rise, it fell a mere 0.04%. Monday's gains take it to a peak of 1.8250, a level last seen in March of 2018, which speaks of the broader GBPCAD trend; momentum is firmly towards the upside in GBPCAD. That being said, there is a heightened risk of a setback this week, with GBPCAD's daily RSI at 74.56, which is unusually elevated.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Government of South Africa, reproduced under CC licensing While import tariffs typically weaken affected currencies, the rand may be less vulnerable compared to the Mexican peso, Canadian dollar, and euro-provided South Africa avoids additional punitive tariffs. "Import tariffs are synonymous with currency devaluations," De Wet noted.
-
1 month ago | 
poundsterlinglive.com | Sam Coventry
Image © Adobe Stock "China has been one of the best performing equity markets and the question in everyone's mind is whether this time it's different. I'm inclined to say yes," says George Efstathopoulos, Portfolio Manager for Multi Assets at Fidelity International. He notes that the 'mini' fiscal stimulus of Q4 2024 has resulted in better economic data and this is benefiting equity valuations.
