Money Matters is not in the habit of making too many resolutions for a New Year, but I thought I would share with you a few predictions for the financial outlook in 2018. Maybe you’ll agree; maybe you won’t. You may even want to have a go at the exercise yourself.

We have to start with the UK’s departure from the European Union. The Government appears to have made some progress in persuading EU negotiators to discuss trade arrangements, but it looks like a long haul to me. There has to be a risk that no deal on trade will be struck until the EU is happy with everything else and that therefore we will still be talking about this issue this time next year. “Surely not”, you cry! I wish I had your faith.

The stock market will, of course, be reactive to the EU trade talks, but the longer those take to conclude, the more jittery the market will become. Could it survive a hit of, say, 20% of share values? Clearly it can, but what will the impact be on savings, pensions and businesses if it did fall that far?

Many trends seem certain to continue
Less speculative potentially is the subject of interest rates. We saw our first rise in base rates for a decade in November and it’s not rocket science to work out that they are only going one way in 2018. I think base rate will double to 1% in the next twelve months.

We’ve also had the announcement of more bank closures recently and this is another trend that seems certain to continue in the year ahead. More and more of our financial transactions are being done online and I score no marks for predicting that this too will continue apace, but it clearly will!

These are bits of fun, of course, rather than advice on which you should rely. I haven’t strayed far from the regular topics. Maybe I should predict that we will see the first £250 million football transfer or that I will win the National Lottery. Fat chance of the latter methinks.

Enough of my ramblings. Let me wish all readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.