You know what you want. But do you know how to go about getting it? Before you start to negotiate, our handy checklist will ensure you have the maximum ammunition at your disposal. 1. Know yourself. You’re not just buying widgets. You’re buying components for a product that will solve your own customers’ needs. Even finished goods need to fit into your own downstream supply chain and will have packaging, marketing and logistics applied to them. Think about all these elements

The US Dollar edged higher against its major peers on Monday, before retracing some of its gains as investors eyed a speech by the new Chair of the Federal Reserve at 13:00 UK time today. Freshly appointed FOMC Chair Jerome Powell will be kick-starting a busy week in financial markets today when he makes his first congressional testimony before the US House of Representatives. Investors will be hanging on his every word during his first major public appearance, as they look t

The traditional relationship between interest rates and currencies re-established itself with a vengeance last week. The minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting left no doubt that a March interest rate hike is a foregone conclusion, and sent US yields to new year highs. The Dollar followed higher, ending the week up against every other G10 currency. Last week's loser was the Swedish Krona, down sharply on disappointing inflation data that delay the prospects for Riksban

The Pound was given a boost against its major counterparts on Tuesday after a report suggested that the European Parliament will push for Britain to obtain ‘privileged’ access to the single market after it leaves the European Union. Sterling rose by around 50 pips following the publication of a report published by Business Insider yesterday morning that suggested the UK and EU could be moving towards a mutually beneficial Brexit. The European Parliament is reportedly preparin

With US financial markets closed on Monday due to Presidents Day, yesterday was a fairly quiet one in the currency markets. Investors instead awaited a slew of more meaningful announcements later in the week, which could lead to a volatile few days of FX trading. US Dollar bulls will be hoping that the release of Wednesday evening’s Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes reignites some form of recovery rally in the greenback. The currency has been firmly on the back foot in the pa

We saw some volatile trading in currency markets last week. The upward surprise in US inflation had a counterintuitive effect on the Dollar, which fell hard to new multi-year lows, before rallying equally sharply to end the week down 1.5% versus European currencies. Currency markets have turned less predictable of late, as some well-worn correlations between currencies and asset classes appear to have broken down - most notably, the one between US bond yields and the US Dolla

The US Dollar continued to lose ground against its major peers on Thursday, extending a torrid run that has now seen the currency hit fresh three year lows and shed over 6% since mid-December alone. Investors mostly overlooked Wednesday’s lofty inflation numbers that suggested that Federal Reserve could be on course to raise interest rates on as many as four occasions in the US in 2018. So what factors have been behind this recent sharp downtrend? Concerns this week appear to

Expanding abroad can be a complex task and it’s easy to pay too much or unnecessarily lose money. To help you tackle your financial challenges we’ve prepared this checklist. Checklist 1. Foreign exchange When you exchange currencies, you’ll want a good exchange rate and low or no fees. Remember it’s not just banks that provide this type of service. There are fintech and other currency specialists out there that may offer you better terms, faster transactions and enhanced serv

A stronger-than-expected set of inflation data out of the US on Wednesday was not enough to prevent the Dollar falling for another day, with the greenback slipping to its lowest level in over a week. Headline inflation in the US experienced its largest monthly increase in over a year in January, reinforcing the view that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates on as many as four occasions in 2018. Prices rose by 2.1% in the first month of the year after investors had e

Sterling edged higher against the US Dollar on Tuesday following the release of the latest set of UK inflation data, although gave back almost the entirety of yesterday’s gains as markets opened this morning. Tuesday’s inflation data further ramped up speculation that the Bank of England could be ready to raise interest rates again in the coming months. Despite a slowdown in food prices, headline inflation stood firm at 3.0% in January after the market had anticipated a decli