Friday’s trading saw the FTSE 100 down 0.6% and the FTSE 250 down 0.5% cementing a week which saw continued nervousness among investors.
Frederique Carrier, head of investment strategy at RBC Wealth Management, said, “The country is heading towards recession if it isn’t already in one.”
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II meant markets were closed on Monday and the coming week will see a large amount of financial news, some of it delayed due the period of extended mourning for the monarch.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to unveil a ‘mini-budget’ on Friday, which is widely expected to contain £30 billion of tax cuts in an effort to boost Britain’s faltering economy.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee was due to have its next interest rate meeting on September 15, but this was pushed back by a week due to the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The committee will now announce its results at 12am on 22 September, with many traders expecting a 75-point rise. The bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill said last week, “We do have work to do.”
It will now be one of three central bank meetings this week, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
There are also results expected from a large number of companies, thanks to delays relating to the Queen’s funeral, with results from companies including JD Sports (GB:JD), S4 Capital (GB:SFOR) and Smiths Group (GB:SMIN) .
British business news today
Pubs and restaurants look to mini-budget for help (FT)
Four-day working week backed by 86$ of trial companies (Times)
German and Italian industry will struggle to recover from loss of Russian gas (Telegraph)
