It has been a remarkable 12 months and one that no one could have envisaged this time a year ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has so far seen over 70 million confirmed cases and 1.6 million deaths across 190 countries. The commencement of the vaccination programme is wonderful news to end the year and offers the […]
This month marks the 22nd birthday of Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services. While we won’t be able to celebrate as we might normally, we continue to strive to provide clients with the same high standard of service. Despite a further Government lockdown, our intention is very much to return to our office as soon […]
As many of you will have heard, the Chancellor has confirmed that there will no longer be a Budget this month or a multi-year Spending Review. Instead, Rishi Sunak will deliver a one-year review on November 25 with a focus on how the Government is going to continue meeting the challenges of Covid-19 and the […]
The term ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ or ‘ESG’ is something that is coming up increasingly in conversations with clients. It covers a wide range of factors that influence an investor’s decision as to whether to invest in a company. Factors could include a company’s labour practices, product safety, treatment of animals and energy usage. For […]
The Government’s decision to extend the full furlough through to the end of March 2021 and the Bank of England’s additional £150billion in quantitative easing (to spur spending and investment) surprised many commentators. It followed the announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that England would enter a second national lockdown during the month of November […]
President Trump may continue to refuse to concede defeat, but virtually everyone else in the US and the rest of the world is starting to ask: ‘What will a Joe Biden presidency mean?’ Unless there is some dramatic legal challenge that turns last week’s delayed result on its head, Biden will become the US’s 46th […]
There is plenty in the news about the pros and cons of returning to the office. At Phillip Bates & Co, we are actively planning to return to our Neston office as soon as it is safe and sensible to do so. In the meantime, it remains business as usual with clients having the option […]
Never one for understatement, President Donald Trump recently described the looming US Presidential Election as “the most important in the history of our country”. As Trump would have it, the election is a battle for the soul of America, pitting his administration against Joe Biden’s “left wing radicals”. The reality is likely to be somewhat […]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has built up quite a bit of credit with the British public during the Coronavirus crisis. He won plaudits for the speed with which he introduced the furlough programme, which has been accessed by 9.5million workers, the roll out of various business loans and grants and, most recently, his Eat Out To […]
The Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted more than anything the importance of having a well-diversified financial portfolio. Overall the markets have stabilised at a reasonable level – down on where they were in February, but still reasonably solid. We are now seeing daily movements of between 1 and 1.5%, compared to nearer 2.5% when I last […]
