2020 - Knightsbridge Wealth

Is Britain’s house-price boom set to continue?

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, UK house prices have been rising fast this year. Will that continue in 2021?

The Dollar’s on the slide

The US dollar recently hit a two-year low as markets move firmly into ‘risk-on’ mode.

World’s debt balloons

Covid-19 is being allowed to let rip in the public finances.

A global property boom

Covid-19 has pushed the global economy into the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Oil prices stalling

Are we heading for another oil-price slump? Benchmark Brent crude futures plunged to an 18-year low of around $19 a barrel in April, while US oil futures briefly went negative.

London property remains over-valued

London’s housing market remains over-valued, according to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index.

South Africa faces storm

“The storm is upon us,” says South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. Already in recession before the pandemic hit, South Africa has been the fifth-worst hit country in the world measured by the number of coronavirus cases.

Recession in Turkey

Having just returned from Turkey, it is clear that it’s currency – the Lira – is back in the firing line. The Turkish tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, reducing crucial foreign-currency earnings.

China leads global recovery whilst tensions escalate

Despite China's increasingly belligerent stance provoking a global backlash, it is, by far, the world’s best-performing big economy this year.

A sunny retirement

Want to live a very low tax retirement? Good news: you can.

Hong Kong’s new normal

It has been ten days since a new security law, effectively imposed by the Chinese government, came into effect, but already the atmosphere in Hong Kong has changed dramatically.

UK House Prices falling

Reset for the recovery

Fears about the economic impact of coronavirus-induced lock-downs sparked a record-breaking sell-off in March. But global financial markets have since staged an equally record-breaking recovery, driven by monetary and fiscal stimulus, and re-opening economies.

Inflation will return

The guardians of the world’s currencies have unleashed unprecedented monetary stimulus in response to the pandemic.

Stocks stumbling

Markets have been rallying almost continuously since the March bottom, but the last couple of weeks have brought a reminder that gains can quickly turn into losses. The UK’s FTSE-100 has fallen by 5% over the last three weeks.

No-deal Brexit looms again

The chances of Britain leaving the EU without a trade deal continue to rise, with both sides agreeing that little progress had been made in the fourth round of trade talks.

Britain’s housing market may avoid a crash

There is a general presumption that the reopening of the UK housing market following the pandemic freeze must be negative for house prices.

New Hong Kong security laws lead to falling currency

China plans to write a new national security law into Hong Kong’s constitution. This will bypass the territory’s Legislative Council.

India’s collapsing economy

India faces a terrible choice. Most countries are grappling with a trade-off between lives and livelihoods, but in an economy where more than 80% of people live on less than $5.

Hong Kong’s struggle continues

Hong Kong’s recession deepened in the first quarter of 2020, contracting 8.9% year on year.

Oil Prices plunging over global GDP shock

After plunging into negative territory last week, oil prices surged 20% today (from a very low base).

Market Update : 23rd April 2020

Stocks regained ground yesterday (Wednesday) following a sell-off earlier this week on worries over dislocations in the oil market.

The housing market’s deep freeze

Most of the non-essential parts of the British economy have been put on hold by the coronavirus lockdown. The housing market is no exception.

Pandemic fears continue to panic markets

Stocks around the world have fallen for a fifth day amid growing concern about the coronavirus outbreak. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 1.

Is Hong Kong becoming a ‘failed state?’

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Hong Kong was starting to resemble a ‘failed state.’ There is palpable anxiety in the coronavirus-hit city, where a bungled official response, shortages of masks and toilet-paper panics are causing chaos.

What Brexit means for your money

The UK has finally left the European Union - taking one referendum, two general elections and three prime ministers to get here. What happens now?

Growth in self-employed makes taxation taxing

Governments around the world have got a big problem on their hands.

Will China’s virus outbreak damage the economy?

The rally in Asian stock prices since December came to a halt on 20th January over mounting investor fears that the pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, might turn into a larger epidemic and stunt consumption, travel and tourism-related sectors.

Britain’s innovators should keep their tax breaks

There were not many things Gordon Brown got right in his 13 years in government. But one thing he can claim credit for is the entrepreneurs’ rate of capital-gains tax (CGT).