UK

Four in 10 European doctors are considering leaving Britain following the Brexit vote, new research suggests. A British Medical Association (BMA) survey found that 42% are thinking of quitting the UK, with a further 23% still unsure if they will stay. The BMA warned it could spell “disaster” as the National Health Service (NHS) was already facing “crippling staff shortages”.

Among NHS staff in England, 59,796 are from the European Union, according to NHS Digital, including 10,267 doctors – around 6.6% of the UK medical workforce. “Diseases know no country borders, and medicine is an international profession, with global co-operation in research, drug development, standards of patient care, and free movement of doctors around the world.”

The GBP/USD pair erased most of Friday’s losses yesterday, successfully climbing over the 1.2450 level, thus, breaching the immediate resistance area. Now the British currency is being supported by a strong demand area around the 1.24 major level, with the weekly PP just being a minor nuisance located at 1.2449. Technically, the Cable should remain above the 1.24 mark today and pave its way towards retaking the 1.25 handle. However, technical indicators are still unable to confirm the possibility of the positive outcome, leaving the door open for another leg down.

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is stepping up its push to keep the price of a pint down for millions of UK pub-goers, calling on the Treasury to reduce beer duty by 1p. With inflation expected to rise in the next year, the cut will help to cap the price of beer, keeping more money in consumers’ pockets and helping the pubs and brewing sector to grow.

Beer drinkers are already being hit in the pocket, with Heineken and Carlsberg last month becoming the latest brewers to raise prices, following MolsonCoors – maker of the UK’s most popular beer, Carling – and ABInBev. The weak pound has also driven up the cost of imported raw materials such as hops, which could threaten Britain’s craft beer industry.

Staff at Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market in the City, have enjoyed a tipple during the day ever since it opened in 1688, but now a 9-to-5 alcohol ban has been drafted in – after roughly half of employee disciplining cases were found linked to alcohol in the last two years, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Newly updated employee guidelines provide “clarification on the rules around alcohol consumption, which is prohibited during business hours. The guidance removes any ambiguity on the policy,” a Lloyd’s of London spokesman said in a statement.

According to The Financial Times, its 800 workers have been told the hours between 9am and 5pm must be strictly dry. It is traditional for traders working in that area to gather around Leadenhall Market to make contacts and probe deals over a pint.

The Bank of England on Thursday ramped up its UK economic growth forecasts for the next three years, despite the threat of Brexit storm clouds.
The bank voted unanimously in its February meeting to keep interest rates at the record low level of 0.25% and keep its quantitative easing (QE) purchase targets at up to £10 billion ($12.6 billion) for corporate bonds and £435 billion for U.K. government bonds.

Then, the British central bank lifted its 2017 economic growth prediction to 2.0% from a 1.4% forecast signalling the better-than expected performance of the UK economy since the June referendum.
The BOE still believes growth will slow as Brexit negotiations begin, predicting GDP growth of 1.6% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2019. That was up from growth estimates of 1.5% and 1.6% respectively.

“The most interesting part of Thursday’s events will be Mark Carney’s press conference. The Bank will probably revise up their forecasts for inflation and growth in the short term. So Mr Carney is bound to be asked why he’s not planning on raising interest rates in response. The answer will be that the central bank looks beyond this kind of inflation because it thinks it won’t last.

The number of EU students applying to study in the UK has dropped by 7% sparking fears that the impact of the Brexit vote is starting to bite in the university sector, official figures released today by UCAS reveal.

UK applicant figures have also decreased to a total of 469,490, a fall of 5% on this time last year; among EU students, there have been 42,070 applicants, compared to 45,220 at the same point last year, around 7% drop.

It is the third fall in applicant numbers since 2002, and the biggest since 2012 – the year that tuition fees in England were trebled to £9,000 (CFF 11,216). The other drop was in 2006, when fees were raised to £3,000 (CHF 3,730).

Despite some concerns around the start of last year, and the political shocks that unfolded over the course of the past 12 months, 2016 actually turned out to be quite a good year for investors, with most asset classes rising in value. But what can we expect over 2017, and how should investors approach the coming year? In this short outlook document we outline what we expect over the year ahead and set out what we believe could be the best-performing asset classes in each of our main scenarios.