The week beginning 5 December brought a much narrower UK trade deficit and an extended schedule for the ECB’s asset purchase programme. Both have a good-news, bad-news feel to them.

Almost half of accountants say they do not know enough about auto enrolment*, despite being the primary source of advice sought by small businesses about the pension legislation, a report by employee benefits adviser Helm Godfrey has found.

The week beginning 28 November saw two key international indicators – Chinese manufacturing PMIs and the US non-farms payroll report – give encouraging signs.

Other than the announcement of a UK National Productivity Investment Fund, week the week beginning 21 November didn’t provide us with as much fiscal stimulus as we would like. Meanwhile, deflationary pressures eased a little in Japan.

The week commencing 14 November was all about the US. There was better than expected retail sales growth in the US which, given the oversized contribution to gross domestic product that consumption provides, is good news.

The week beginning 7 November showed that predicting the future is difficult....

There is growing pressure on corporate profit & loss (P&L) accounts following the BREXIT vote, Sterling depreciation and uncertainty with regard to the future Economic strategy to be adopted by the new Chancellor in November.

It isn’t often that a neo-Malthusian perma-bear like me is roused to defend the bulls, but one of our own has gone rogue. In fact, by the look of my email inbox, Crispin Odey – he of Odey Asset Management – is on the rampage.

"I feel in very safe hands working with Susie......

I cannot thank Lauren enough for all her hard work and advice as regard my retirement pension....