It is with huge sadness that we have to inform you that our longstanding friend and business partner, Robert Ash, died on Tuesday 19 September. We shall remember Robert’s charm and wit and he will be sorely missed by all of us at Williams Investment Management LLP. Our thoughts are very much with Robert’s wife,…
The Bank of England (B of E), U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) all raised benchmark rates by 0.25% in order to tame inflation that remains substantially above target in all three territories. In the B of E’s case, it was the 14th consecutive increase, a damning indictment of its ineptitude by…
In James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’, Jack (Leonardo Di Caprio) perished while Rose (Kate Winslet) survived. However, when Coutts hit an iceberg, the roles were reversed. BBC business hack Simon Jack remains in post while Dame Alison Rose was effectively forced to resign, despite Nat West’s hapless chairman, Sir Howard Davies, expressing initial confidence in her. I…
Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes from its last meeting suggested interest rates were likely to rise further in 2023 although at a slower pace. After 10 consecutive increases, June witnessed a pause in tightening. In the Eurozone, service and manufacturing output weakened while its strongest economy, Germany, entered recession. China continued to send mixed messages but…
I was interested to see Shell’s chief executive, Wael Sawan, not rule out moving group headquarters and main stock market listing to the US. He referred to the warm welcome extended by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at a recent investors’ meeting, illustrated by the Shell flag flying alongside the NYSE flag; “they said…
Was it a surprise the U.S. debt ceiling was raised? Of course not; there was only going to be one ending to this theatrical stand off and Biden was always going to get his money. Of course, the real issue is when will the U.S. (and the Western world in general) get its house in…
Mmmm …… so Bank of England (B of E) governor, Andrew Bailey, admits there are “very big lessons to learn” in setting monetary policy after the B of E failed to a) foresee inflation on the horizon b) did nothing even when it was glaringly obvious problems were brewing c) believed it was all ‘transitory’…
The Bank of England raised base rate by another quarter of a point to 4.5%, representing the 12th consecutive increase and a damning indictment of its failure to conduct competent monetary policy. The 0.25% uplift emulated the actions of both the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank although their benchmark rates are now 5%…
For the second month in a row, UK CPI inflation has been worse than expected and currently stands in double digits. The Bank of England noted the path of inflation may be bumpier than expected in the short term but is likely to fall from thereon. We suspect it is correct but then, the Bank…
Eurozone inflation was slightly higher than anticipated in February but it was the increase in core inflation (excluding food and energy) that caught the eye. Now, one may conclude that food and energy, although volatile, are very much ‘core’ but leaving that argument aside, if the price of everything else is still rising (at a…