Super Saturday? Time may decide
10 July 2020Saturday 04 July 2020 was the day that many of the UK's Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were relaxed in most locations and we started to make real changes to our lives. 'Super Saturday' as it was dubbed in the press, means that with suitable precautions you can go to the pub, or to a restaurant, or for those who feel rather in fashion for the 1970's, go and have your hair cut. Great for UK trade and much needed by many in the hospitality and retail trades, noting of course that the coronavirus has not gone away, either in the UK or abroad. Will there be further localised lockdowns? Time may well decide this point.
The government has now set time limits on and begun to wind down provision for many of the financial protection measures to support the UK public, first instigated in the early spring. This includes the government's Furlough and Self-Employed Income Support schemes, both planned to end in the autumn.
Some gloomy economic headlines are also surfacing at the moment, grabbing the headlines where negative, and usually having little impact otherwise. At the very end of June 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that UK GDP (Gross Domestic Product) had fallen by 2.2% in the first part of 2020 (January to March 2020), the worst fall since 1979. More can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/abmi/qna
However, there is other news from global investment markets, and their recovery from the falls at the start of the pandemic, which are not receiving that much press. As an example, the FTSE 100 has recovered from its recent low (4993 points on 23 March 2020) to its current level (6225 points on 29 June 2020).
Additional detail on the movements of this index can be found here: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100
Chapters Financial Is not responsible for the content of external websites.
More on our investment house view of the current economic markets, noting that fund values can fall as well as rise and of course that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, can be found here: https://www.chaptersfinancial.com/private-clients/chapters-financial-investment-house-view
However you decide to enjoy the summer, we hope you stay safe. If you would like to know more about investing into ISAs, investments and pensions then please contact the team at Chapters Financial in Guildford.
No individual advice is provided during the course of this Blog.
Keith Churchouse FPFS
Director
CFP Chartered FCSI
Chartered Financial Planner
Chapters Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, number 402899
