Introduction 2020 has been a year like no other, and yet – as we will see below – the majority of world stock markets have enjoyed a good year. It was also a good year for Joe Biden, who defeated Donald Trump in November’s Presidential election, and for supporters of Brexit. Finally, some 4½ years …
Introduction Is the end of November a time to celebrate? All the stock markets we cover in the Bulletin made significant gains in the month; the UK’s second national lockdown ends this week and, as we write, Christmas is a little over three weeks away. Or is the glass half-empty? We’re going to come out …
As the UK is set to depart from the frameworks of the EU, there is concern amidst London’s biggest share trading venues surrounding the topic of where they may be able to buy and sell European stocks and where they may not. The Dilemma In order for trading to continue as normal, the EU would …
As we approach the first, and hopefully last, Christmas period to be directly affected by the pandemic, there are novel challenges faced by those in the retail sector. With the second lockdown prohibiting all non-essential retail until at least the 2nd of December, this will be a Christmas defined by online sales, more so than …
Introduction The end of October brought plenty of bad news for Western economies as scientists stood in front of graphs and talked of ‘inexorable rises’ and ‘exponential increases.’ Unsurprisingly, stock markets duly took note. We report on 12 major stock markets and only two, India and Hong Kong, were up in October, with all the …
This article discusses how financial advisers across the nation have adapted to continue to deliver a valuable service at a period of upheaval which hasn’t been seen since the Second World War. Covid-19 has completely changed the way financial planners deliver advice. At the drop of a hat, the industry had to embrace years’ worth …
Introduction September was a difficult month for world stock markets. It was one of those rare months when none of the markets we report on managed to gain any ground as fears of a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic sparked a global sell-off in shares. It was also another month of bickering as tensions …
The effects of the so-called ‘Stamp Duty Holiday’ have dominated the recent property news. According to Rightmove, recent weeks have seen the highest number of agreed house sales in a single month since it started tracking them a decade ago. However, there has been some slightly less positive news that will affect many first-time buyers …
Introduction August used to be known as the ‘silly season’ – a phrase coined by the Times in 1861 to describe the lack of news in August and early September when parliament was in recess. Well, there was plenty of news in August 2020. With coronavirus and its effects, the continuing squabbles over Brexit, the …
Cash has always been king in running a business, especially when SMEs typically only have a 27 day cash buffer, according to JP Morgan. So as businesses struggle to cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we look at four key areas in maintaining a positive cash flow. Measure your position Thinking about the …
