November is going to start with a bang

We are very close to something seismic happening in the world of financial media, that could have an impact on the course of the entire world economy.

That is – we’re going to get a rate decision from the Bank of England. Not only is it priced in by markets as the first-rate hike since August 2018, it’s looking like a hike might come ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s own movement – something that is almost unheard of.

Unless of course, the job of spooking markets and lenders about rate hikes has been enough to cause an adjustment anyway?

There is already a great amount of consternation in the press and financial circles about these rate hikes – but rates were set at 0.75% before the pandemic anyway. So why all the drama?

The ultimate truth of the interest rate ‘will-they-won’t-they’ media tragicomedy is that it is the ultimate binary drama for us to latch onto. The world we are now living in is crippled by the complexity and breadth of issues plaguing the economy and household – both in the UK and globally.

It’s so much easier then to just boil it all down to this one day, on 4 November, to set the tone of what is likely to be a long winter ahead.

The day before this on 3 November, the US Fed will be updating with its latest announcement, although it is widely expected to continue to hold, unlike the BofE.

The month again has a long list of award and other media events, including the Citywealth Future Leaders Awards on 11 November, Investment Week’s Investment Company of the Year Awards on 18 November and the Corporate Adviser Awards on 24 November.

Also, on 18 November Scottish Widows publishes its annual Women and Retirement Report, which is always full of interesting insights that will no doubt generate media coverage and lively debate.

In other dates of note, Talk Money Week starts on 5 November. Black Friday is back again, that now annual retail bonanza, on 26 November, followed by Cyber Monday on 29 November.

Finally, Movember is also back starting on 1 November. I look forward to seeing some promising soup strainers on Zoom calls in the near future!

Best wishes from all of us here at MRM, Capital City Media and Mouthy Money.