The pollsters reckon that the Scottish National Party will become the single biggest party in Scotland following the elections later this week. This has understandably led to thoughts that a subsequent referendum could result in a majority in favour of…
Monthly Archives: April 2007
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Scottish independence – would I end up with Scottish gilts? And would I want `em?
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Posted April 30th, 2007
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Provisional figures just out show that the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in Q1, the slowest pace in four years, as construction fell at an annual rate of 17%. Q1 GDP was way below expectations, which…
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Moody’s monthly default report shows that the global speculative grade default rate fell to the lowest level since April 1997. March’s figure was 1.41%, down from 1.58% in February, which means that just 1.41% of all high yield issuers defaulted…
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There was further evidence of a slowdown in the US housing market yesterday, as sub-prime mortgage woes contributed to existing home sales falling 8.4% in March, the largest monthly decline since records began in 1999 and significantly below expectations of…
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Man wins £25,000 by betting on himself to reach 100 – a lesson for the bond market
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Posted April 24th, 2007
You may have read today about the story of Alec Holden, who ten years ago bet £100 on himself that he’d live to 100. William Hill offered him odds of 250-1, and he’s now celebrating a £25,000 win. It seems…
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Why have medium dated and long dated gilt yields fallen, despite the nasty inflation figures?
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Posted April 20th, 2007
You may be surprised to know that although short dated gilt yields have moved higher this week, 10 year gilt yields are in fact lower than when the market opened on Monday, despite Tuesday’s announcement of a horrific set of…
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Just back from a day trip to Guernsey to visit clients (and now realising that I have a pocket full of non-legal tender coins to dispose of somehow – perhaps I should melt them down for their nickel content, given…
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Inflation breaches the Government's target – Mervyn King writes letter to explain why
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Posted April 17th, 2007
For the first time since it was granted independence in 1997, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has had to write an open letter to the Chancellor explaining why inflation has breached the government’s target. CPI inflation rose by…
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SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, announced yesterday that it is to be sold to a group of investors led by two private equity houses for $25 billion. The two private equity players will own 50.2% of the business…
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After yet more strong housing market data, how much longer can we go without a rate hike?
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Posted April 16th, 2007
My last housing market note at the end of March discussed how strong mortgage approvals are an excellent predictor of future house price movements. If mortgage approvals are strong, then many people are taking out mortgages. If people are taking…










