Gareth Culpan Financial Planning

WeekWatch

In his first major speech since becoming chancellor, and ahead of his first Budget, UK chancellor John Healey sought to create a sense of optimism.

Healey said investment, innovation and growth were high on the agenda. He noted that £1 in every £10 spent went on servicing the national debt, and that growth was key to tackling both this and the cost-of-living challenges for the public.

Yet a jump in global government bond yields last week served as a timely reminder of the difficult decisions governments and central banks around the world currently face.

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An absolute privilege to attend the England Rugby Volunteer Of The Year awards last night at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. Some incredibly humbling stories of the work people are doing all over the country that absolutely deserve the recognition.

Spent the evening trying to persuade Conor O’Shea to have a run out for Driffield Rugby Club 4th team and a pleasure to chat with Alex Payne who was class as ever.

A great evening with good people.

WeekWatch

A round up of the last month, and what’s to come in markets in the UK, Europe and beyond, including inflation and interest rates, Iran, AI and Andy Burnham!

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Whether Albert Einstein ever actually said this about compound interest is up for debate, but what’s not up for debate is the power it holds.

Growth, then growth on your growth, then growth on your growth on your growth, then growth on your gro…. You get the picture!

Start now, play the long game, reap the rewards.



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WeekWatch

According to the US Federal Reserve’s own figures, publicly held federal government debt has doubled since mid-2009. The record $40 trillion figure equates to daily interest payments of $3.8 billion. By comparison, the US spends about $2.3 billion every day on defence.

On this side of the Atlantic, UK headline inflation rose to 2.9% in the month to July, up from 2.6% the previous month. The jump had been expected by analysts and was driven by a 13% increase in the Ofgem energy price cap. This covers the period 1 July to 30 September for the 60% of customer accounts not on fixed tariffs. Elsewhere, core inflation (excluding energy, food and alcohol and to***co) remained unchanged at 2.6%

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WeekWatch

The S&P 500 reached a record high this week buoyed by low US producer and consumer inflation readings in July indicating inflationary pressures are being contained. A stream of strong AI earnings releases reinforced bullish sentiment.

Meanwhile, buoyed by the good weather and England’s progress in the World Cup boosting food and beverage sales (as well as alcohol manufacturing), the UK economy (GDP) grew by an unexpected 0.3% in June. This contributed to second quarter GDP growth of 0.6%, ahead of analysts’ expectations. The combined 1% growth in the first half of this year means the UK is the fastest-growing economy in the G7 group of advanced economies (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan).

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What does security mean to you?

I’m not talking about security guards and CCTV. I’m talking about a well rounded holistic financial plan that covers both the short and long term plans and provides some protection for your loved ones.

Confidence
Clarity
Free from worry.

That’s security

Garethculpanfp.co.uk

WeekWatch

While opinions may vary on whether the current hot, dry summer is nicer than Britain’s typical grey and drizzly experience, its effects on farming are less up for debate.

The heat has encouraged the spread of Bluetongue disease across southwest England and several crops – such as winter wheat – are experiencing notably poor yields. Lower food production are likely to translate to inflationary pressures, though the extent of this may take time to fully materialise.

Meanwhile, reports are emerging that Iran and Oman are close to reaching a deal around the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
This led to renewed hopes that a peace deal might not be far off. As well as helping equity markets, this optimism has seen oil prices move lower.

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£31.1 billion

That’s how much is estimated to be in lost or unclaimed pensions in the UK, according to the Pensions Policy Institue.

• Do you know where your old workplace and personal pensions are?
• Do you know how much is in them?
• Should you consolidate them into one pension for ease?

Something to think about over the weekend perhaps…

Garethculpanfp.co.uk