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Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG. Here are some of the last week’s updates from the trade sector. The UK inflation is going up as wages grow at their fastest pace in 11 years. The British FinTechs raised £740m from venture capitalists. From the FinTech sector: EssDOCS enables first fully integrated paperless trade in iron ore and Marco Polo Network and Logwin have executed real-time trade finance pilot transaction for the first time.
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What happened last week?
UK inflation rises & BoE signals rate raises
Inflation is going up as unemployment falls and wages grow at their fastest pace in 11 years, which suggests that living standards are improving. The Bank of England has signalled that it plans to raise interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating, but it has been cautious about doing so while Brexit worries weigh on the economy. Read more →
The inverted yield curves are screaming “recession”
Amid the recent financial market volatility, the interest rates on some long-dated government bonds have fallen below the level for short-term debt. Called a “yield curve inversion,” this has been a traditional warning sign for the economy: If smart investors see more risk two years ahead than 10 years down the road, it can’t be good for near-term growth. Read more →
Small businesses pay a high price for the rise in basic wages
More than four in ten small companies have been forced to raise prices because of higher rates of basic pay, an employers’ group has claimed. The Federation of Small Businesses warned that its members had reported cutting their profits and holding back on investing. Read more →
British FinTechs raise record amount from investors
In the three months to the end of June, venture capitalists poured around £740m into UK FinTech companies, almost double the amount invested into those businesses the same quarter the prior year. Read more →
HSBC and BNP Paribas have become the first to pilot essDocs’ electronic bill of lading
The completion of the world’s first integrated paperless trade transaction happened, involving Rio Rinto selling bulk iron ore to Cargill, who sourced the cargo from Australia on behalf of a customer in China, supported by banks HSBC and BNP Paribas. Read more →
Marco Polo Network and Logwin have executed a real-time pilot trade finance transaction for the first time
Payment terms were secured by an irrevocable payment commitment, triggered through the automated matching of trade data. For the first time, automatic matching of trade data was achieved with the involvement of the logistics provider, in this case, Logwin, which entered the relevant transport details directly into the network. Read more →
Bank of Georgia signs one-year trade finance facility with Citibank
Bank of Georgia and Citibank continue to actively cooperate on trade finance deals, which enable them to strengthen their position as a go-to bank for SME tailor-made trade finance products in Georgia. Read more →
