Themes from June
UK General Election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservative party now reliant on DUP support for a 13 seat working majority.
US President Donald Trump hit back at comments from Republican senators who claimed he had limited grasp of the complexity of US healthcare reform.
US Federal Reserve hiked rates by 0.25% to a new range of between 1%- 1.25% and announced a plan to reduce the central bank’s $4.5trn balance sheet by $10bn per month.
Governor Mark Carney hinted the Bank of England could withdraw monetary stimulus if UK wages pick up. A quarter point rise in UK base rates to 0.5% could occur in 2017.
Stagecoach reported 2017 results hit by £84.1m in onerous contract provisions in respect of its Virgin Trains East Coast, a 90%/10% joint venture.
DFS Furniture trading update lowered operating profit expectations by £10m to £84.5m due to softer UK demand.
Karen Bradley, Culture Secretary is “minded to” refer the Sky/ Fox takeover to the Competition & Markets Authority for an in depth review. A referral could take 24 weeks hence a completion in 2018.
Tesla announced it will start delivering its Model 3 electric powered saloon cars in July with production increasing to 20k per month by end 2017.