Things Have Changed A Lot In A Week

If one thing is for certain, it is the investment markets are volatile. Reactions to global events can be rapid and cause large market moves. Since last week we have seen an escalation in violence in the Middle East. In particular, tensions between Iran and Israel have impacted global oil markets and may impact central bank policy.

Oil prices have increased from $68.15 on Sunday to $73.86 this morning. What’s the knock on impact for us? Well, we saw yesterday that the Bank of England have changed their messaging on interest rate rises. Andrew Bailey is now indicating that there may be another interest rate cut this month (with oil prices being part of the discussion), going against what was being messaged last week. This has had an immediate impact on the value of the Pound which has broken it’s strong positive streak (as discussed last week) and lost value against both the US Dollar and the Euro. See more in article link below.

Key Articles I Have Read This Week:

• Sky News cover the change in the Bank Of England messaging, the reasons and the impacts well : Read it here

• The FT Adviser wrote about the impact of financial wellbeing in the workplace. If you are a manager or work with companies, it may be an interesting read to understand the impact money worries can have, including reducing IQ by up to 13 points: Read it here

Investment Markets This Week:

Best Cash Savings Rates This Week

💡 The Energy Price Cap ⚡️ 

As the weather cools and it is very definitely darker in the mornings, we are also about to have a rise in the Energy Price Cap. Now is the time to check what energy price plan you are on and see if you can get a cheaper deal before your usage shoots up over winter.