Is there a Trump Master Plan?
05/04/2025 by Tony Redondo President Donald Trump signed an aggressive and far-reaching âreciprocal tariffâ policy last Wednesday. The heavily anticipated âLiberation Dayâ trade announcement brought news of a 10% universal minimum tariff for imports to the US. For many countries that rate will be higher as âreciprocalâ tariff rates will apply instead of the 10% […]
Omnishambles
29 March 2025 by Tony Redondo According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Omnishambles” was the word of the year in 2012. The word means a situation which is shambolic from every possible angle. How else to describe the UK economy eight months into Keir Starmerâs government. Last Wednesday, as promised Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel […]
Five yearsÂ
22 March 2025 by Tony Redondo Sadly, I am not referring to the first song on David Bowieâs magnificent âThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Marsâ LP but that this Sunday is the fifth anniversary of then PM Boris Johnson calling the first Covid-19 lockdown. As I am sure you […]
Britainâsâ economy hits the skids
15 March 2025 by Tony Redondo The UK economy continues to struggle for growth and underperformed expectations again in January. According to the ONS (Office for National Statistics), the UK economy shrank by 0.1% in January with output dragged down by a sharp drop in output in the production sector. Economists had predicted growth of […]
The Dollar bombs
8 March 2025 by Tony Redondo Currency Exchange Rates Update The Trump administrationâs Hokey Cokey âTariffs on, tariffs offâ decisions are creating ever more uncertainty and taking their toll on the financial markets. Itâs far too early to even suggest the US dollarâs status as a safe-haven asset and reserve currency is under serious threat […]
Tariffs
01 March 2025 by Tony Redondo There has been much activity in the first weeks of Donald Trumpâs second term as President, but one subject has dominated above all, tariffs. Trump has so far announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico. There is no start date […]
Pound up despite UK âdoom-loopâ
23 February 2025 by Tony Redondo David Smith in the Sunday Times says the economy is at risk of entering a “doom loop” where weak growth necessitates further tax hikes. The UK economy is experiencing sluggish growth. The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) is forecasting a potential increase in the tax burden to 36.4% of […]
German Fallout
15 February 2025 by Tony Redondo The German federal elections are scheduled for next Sunday, 23 February and the betting is that Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) will be the new chancellor. If the AfD (Alternative for Germany) gets into government, it will be a big political shock in by far […]
UK on stagflation watch
08 February 2025 by Tony Redondo As widely expected, the BoE (Bank of England) cut interest rates for the third time in six months last week by 0.25% to 4.5% and confirmed flat economic growth up until the end of 2024. The BoE then went âoff scriptâ with a new forecast for inflation of 3.7% […]
Brexit or Brino?Â
01 February 2025 by Tony Redondo Four years since Brexit officially took effect on 31 January 2021, the UKâs departure from the EU remains a divisive topic. Some argue that what we have is closer to Brino (Brexit in Name Only) due to the continued influence of EU regulations in certain areas. Others claim Brexit […]