Finance House Base Rate (FHBR) is 1% for January 2017 The rate is calculated at the end of each month by averaging the cost of three-month money in the interbank market over the previous eight weeks. The resulting figure is then rounded up to the next half point. The process is entirely arithmetical and contains...Read More

To the tune of Away in a Manger, we wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas, and we’ll be back in January 2017. Come gather, Dear Readers for the last time this year, And enjoy what in our world, represents Christmas cheer, We’ll tell of the economy, In twenty-sixteen, and we’ll start looking forward...Read More

2017 looks like it’s the year for inflation to make a comeback. Will it be a flash then fade? Or something more that requires a bit of policy action? We bet the former. Split.  Britain’s dominant services sector continues to hum along nicely. According to the PMI, growth reached its fastest rate in ten months in...Read More

Italy’s banking sector problems, building financial risks facing the UK and the prospect of higher rates in the US. The year may be drawing to a close but there will be plenty to keep minds focused in 2017. Unwanted. Italy’s economic performance this century has been woeful. Its economic output is little different to the level...Read More

A report from the European Investment Bank (EIB), “Breaking down investment barriers at ground level”, has found that investment in the European Union is hampered by the difficulties small and mid-sized companies encounter in obtaining financial services The report also identified structural issues in the way the single market is set up that prevents investment,...Read More

An extension to budget deficit reduction amidst weaker productivity growth and some measures to fix the latter – it feels like Budgets and Autumn Statements have always been thus. Last week was no different and changing the narrative is tricky. Therapy for productivity is key. It just may need to be more of the ‘shock’...Read More

New business volumes for equipment finance in the US rose by 6% year-on-year in October, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation (ELFA). The Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) found October new business volumes of $8.2bn, which also indicated a 13% fall from September 2016’s value of $9.4bn. Receivables also followed the pattern...Read More

After 19 months of campaigning at a cost of $2.7 billion the United States has elected its new leader. There’s a tendency to endow political events with too much significance but President-Elect Trump’s approach to some elements of economic policy represent a clear break with the past. What should we expect? Back to the future? Making...Read More

For now, low inflation is gearing up real income gains. However, that looks set to change over the course of the next year. Still fair…. Over the last two years or so, households in the UK have been in the midst of a consumer sweet spot. Low inflation helped by a sustained period of falling food, fuel and...Read More

The equipment finance market in the US will grow by 1.31% to $1.03trn (€920bn) in 2016, according to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. The US Equipment Finance Market Study: 2016-2017, which was conducted by IHS Markit for the ELFF, projected that the market will reach $1.24trn in 2020. According to the foundation, 78% of...Read More