Bank of England expected to cut rates post-Brexit

The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009, in a decision to be announced at 12pm today.

In the wake of the European referendum economic activity has slowed, with the service sector and construction industry both seeing a sharp fall. Rates have remained at a record low of 0.5 percent since 2009, but Bank of England governor Mark Carney widely expected to lower rates further today to 0.25 percent.

Pound falls, Asian shares up

The pound has fallen this morning ahead of the rate decision by the Bank of England, falling 0.1 percent but remaining well clear of the three decade low hit after the Brexit vote.

Shares in Asia fared better on Thursday, with the MSCI Asian-Pacific index rising 0.5 percent after a hard week last week.

Toyota profits drop as strong yen weighs

Japanese carmaker Toyota has seen a 15 percent drop in its first quarter net profit, with the strong yen weighing down the company’s exports.

Toyota posted a net profit of 552.5 billion yen in the months between April and June, down from 646.4 billion yen previously.

The company also lowered their forecast for full year operating profit, predicting their lowest results in four years. The last three have been heavily boosted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s stimulus measures designed to prop up the weak Japanese currency.

04/08/2016