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LONDON, Feb. 4 (Reuters) – Britain's appetite for financial risk has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 10 years, amid fears of "the toughest Brexit" and rising US protectionism study of Deloitte accounting firm on Monday.
It remains less than eight weeks away from the world's fifth largest economy, its main trading partner, the European Union, and British legislators have so far refused to support a transitional deal brokered by Prime Minister Theresa May.
Without an agreement, companies fear that the significant delays imposed by customs and other controls in ports will disrupt supply chains and even lead to shortages of food and other basic necessities.
"Companies are well positioned for the toughest of Brexits, with a risk appetite at a recessionary level and a focus on cost control," said Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte.
A study from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), also released Monday, also revealed a decline in opinion and shows economic growth of only 0, 1% in the first quarter, the lowest of the two since 2012.
Businesses are not just worried about short-term disruptions: 78% of the 110 companies polled by Deloitte said they expect Brexit to hurt the economy in the long run, while only 10% were hoping for a boost. improvement.
Last week, the main professional body of the British automotive sector said that a Brexit without agreement would cause a "permanent devastation". The automaker Nissan is expected to cancel the investment previously announced by the UK.
Less than 10% of CFOs polled in the Deloitte survey said the time has come to take more risk for their balance sheets, the lowest in more than nine years.
Brexit has been identified as the main risk, followed by trade wars triggered by American protectionism and the more general weakness of British domestic demand.
The Deloitte survey was conducted among CFOs of the UK's largest listed companies with a combined market value of 390 billion pounds (510 billion US dollars), as well as British affiliates of large foreign companies. between January 8th and 24th.
ICAEW interviewed 1,000 accountants between October 22 and January 18. ($ 1 = 0.7641 books) (Reported by David Milliken, edited by Hugh Lawson)
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