Exclusive: Richer London boroughs suffer biggest fall in lockdown spending September 11, 2020 Some of London’s most prosperous boroughs suffered the biggest falls in spending during lockdown and saw a more sluggish recovery as richer households’ lifestyles were curtailed, while less affluent areas saw a smaller drop, data provided exclusively to Morning Wire has suggested. Yet some of the richer boroughs – where residents have thriving food scenes [...]
MPs attack chancellor’s plan to wind down furlough scheme September 11, 2020 The powerful Treasury Committee of MPs has criticised the chancellor’s new job retention bonus scheme as inefficient, and called for him to “carefully consider” more targeted support for parts of the economy when the furlough scheme ends. In a wide-ranging report, the Committee also said the Treasury must quickly come up with a scheme to [...]
ECB leaves interest rates on hold as it monitors recovery September 10, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) has left interest rates at their current record-low level as it waits to see the trajectory of the Eurozone’s economic recovery. But analysts think the Eurozone’s central bank will have to take more action later this year or early next, amid signs that the rebound is slowing down. Read more: [...]
Weekly US jobless claims reach 884,000 as layoffs persist September 10, 2020 The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the US is continuing to rise, according to new data from the US Labor Department. Last week there were 884,000 initial claims, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Last week, the number of claims fell to the lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, although [...]
UK economy: Job adverts fall while retail footfall flatlines September 10, 2020 The UK’s economic recovery appeared to slow somewhat over the last few weeks, according to official data, with the number of online job adverts falling and retail footfall staying roughly flat. Britons gradually headed back to the office, however, with the number of people working remotely falling. In the week to 4 September, total online [...]
Exclusive: Bank of England spends £120,000 making HQ Covid-secure September 10, 2020 The Bank of England has been hugely busy during the coronavirus pandemic, pulling the levers of monetary policy in a desperate effort to support the economy. But it has also been working hard closer to home. It has spent at least £117,000 on making its historic Threadneedle Street headquarters as safe as possible during Covid [...]
Exclusive: London consumer spending soars during cheap meal scheme September 10, 2020 The Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave London restaurants a huge boost in August, with spending jumping to just 10 per cent below its 2019 level, according to the latest data provided exclusively to Morning Wire Food and beverage spending in London in July was a whopping 39.1 per cent lower than a year [...]
Coronavirus insolvency measures must be extended, says IoD September 9, 2020 The Institute of Directors is calling for an urgent extension to emergency insolvency measures to prevent a swathe of job losses and company collapses. In June, the government introduced emergency legislation to suspend the threat of liability for “wrongful trading” until 30 September 2020. Before the measures were introduced, the board of directors had a [...]
British companies planned 300,000 redundancies in June and July September 8, 2020 UK employers planned more than 300,000 redundancies this summer as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the economy. Figures obtained by a BBC Freedom of Information request show 1,784 firms made plans to cut nearly 150,000 jobs in July, a near sevenfold increase on the year before. While in June, 1,888 employers [...]
German exports rise but stay below pre-Covid levels September 8, 2020 German exports jumped 4.7 per cent in July as the Eurozone economy’s gradual recovery continued, but trade remained far below its pre-crisis level. Imports grew by just 1.1 per cent, however, undershooting economists’ expectations of a rise of 3.3 per cent. Compared with a year earlier the figures were stark. Exports were down 11 per [...]