Last week, the Bank of England's (“BoE”) weekly short-term repo allotment hit a record high of over £100 billion, marking the shift to a repo-led system, while the BoE considers tokenised assets as eligible collateral. The UK labour market softening continued, with Adzuna reporting that December job vacancies fell 15% year-on-year to a 2020 low, as rising payroll costs slowed hiring. This supports the majority view of a March rate cut, despite BoE Governor Andrew Bailey stressing the need to boost market resilience. Globally, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi agreed on a "strategic partnership," resetting UK-China relations with progress on whiskey tariffs and visa waivers, alongside cooperation on equipment used for restricting small boat crossings. Chatham House noted Beijing views the UK as a stable partner amidst US policy "disruption," with low current investment, 0.7% of UK foreign direct investment, offering significant growth potential...

Stocks featured:

3i Group, Fresnillo and Lloyds Banking Group

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 226344) and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, UK economic data revealed a mix of rising price pressures and surprising resilience in activity. Inflation surprised on the upside in December with the headline Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) rising to 3.4%, driven by higher airfares and tobacco duty, a development likely to instil policy caution at the Bank of England (“BoE”) next month. However, economic activity accelerated, as the January Purchasing Managers Index (“PMI”) recorded its strongest upturn since April 2024, hitting a 21-month high of 53.9, which S&P Global noted is indicative of a 0.4% quarterly growth rate. Retail sales also beat expectations with a 0.4% expansion in December, though a quarterly decline in goods purchased suggests underlying household consumption remains weak. In financial markets, gilts headed for their worst weekly performance since November amid political risk, while Vanguard announced plans to offload approximately £1.9 billion of UK shares to reduce "home bias" in its funds...

Stocks featured:

Admiral Group, Endeavour Mining and Rentokil Initial

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 226344) and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week the Bank of England ("BoE") released data showing unexpected resilience in November’s gross domestic product ("GDP"), which expanded by 0.3%, surpassing the 0.1% forecast and ending a two-month decline. The growth was driven by a rebound in both services and manufacturing, aided by Jaguar Land Rover’s recovery following a cyberattack, despite ongoing structural risks. At the same time, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey defended the importance of economic institutions and open trade, urging resistance to populist attacks and warning that undermining bodies such as the International Monetary Fund ("IMF") weakens their ability to highlight economic risks. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics ("ONS") may delay its new labour market survey by six months, potentially until May 2027, due to technical difficulties. Adding to concerns, the Institute for Public Policy Research ("IPPR") highlighted vulnerabilities in the UK economy, noting that supply chain disruptions linked to China could cost £1.5 billion annually for solar projects and jeopardise 90,000 electric vehicle jobs unless the government implements a 'securonomics' framework...

Stocks featured:

Pearson, Schroders and Whitbread

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 226344) and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.