Read the latest news and articles from the Gem & Co team
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.” Winston Churchill Remembering the past As we remember and commemorate, one century on, the
Read moreIntroduction We should probably begin this Preview in Boots the Chemist, shopping for Strepsils and Lemsip. The Prime Minister’s cold was widely blamed for her lacklustre performance at the Conservative Conference: sadly, there was only one speech at the Conference which received even more criticism than the Prime Minister’s. Step forward Philip Hammond, Chancellor of
Read moreIntroduction This report was written over the weekend of 10th/11th June and revised early on Monday 12th June. As you will appreciate, events are moving very quickly – and continue to do so. For example, on Saturday morning there was pressure to remove Theresa May’s advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill: by lunchtime, they were gone.
Read moreHow a hung Parliament affects your portfolio As dawn breaks, the morning light reveals yet another political gamble that has not paid off for the dice roller. The UK has a hung Parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority. Such is the unpredictability of a parliamentary democracy. If you ask the people of the
Read moreAll investors know that they need to take risks in order to achieve returns higher than cash. If you asked ten investors if equities were more risky than cash, most would agree; but that depends on how one understands risk. The investment industry has done a poor job of explaining risk as it relates to
Read moreNovember brought us the election of President Trump. Earlier this month, Emmanuel Macron became President of France. Apparently not wanting to be left out, Theresa May took to the Downing Street lectern reserved for important announcements and called for a UK General Election to be held on Thursday June 8th. Citing political divisions in Westminster
Read moreTheresa May has formally notified the European Union of Britain’s intention to leave Sunday’s papers could not have been more divided. ‘This week the UK will throw into jeopardy 60 years of unparalleled European peace, security and prosperity’ warned the Observer. While a triumphalist Sunday Express declared, ‘EU laws head for the dustbin from next
Read moreIntroduction This time last year Philip Hammond was the Foreign Secretary: then came Brexit, Theresa May as Prime Minister, George Osborne’s opportunity to spend more time with his family – or on the after-dinner speaking circuit – and Mr Hammond’s move into 11 Downing Street. He delivered his first Autumn Statement in November of last
Read moreIntroduction The New Chancellor For the last six years, the government’s Budget and Autumn Statement have been synonymous with George Osborne – but as we all now know, the former Chancellor fell victim to Theresa May’s post-Brexit reshuffle. In fact, with his Tatton constituency likely to be impacted under the proposed boundary changes, our former
Read more“Make America Great Again.” First we had Brexit, now we have President-Elect Donald J. Trump. The reasons why Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States will be debated long and hard. Was it that people who hadn’t voted for years turned out to support him? Was it all down
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