Coronavirus measures force UK borrowing up £62bn in April May 22, 2020 UK borrowing rose by £62.1bn in April alone as the government paid people’s wages and loaned businesses cash to survive the coronavirus lockdown, statistics showed today. Coronavirus measures like the job retention scheme to pay people’s wages, and coronavirus loans for businesses of all sizes, pushed UK borrowing to an all-time high last month. The [...]
Consumer confidence ‘battered and bruised’ by coronavirus crisis May 22, 2020 Consumer confidence has been “battered and bruised” by the coronavirus crisis, new research has found as optimism remained low despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. The latest data showed that confidence was at minus 34 as consumers were concerned about the economic impact of the pandemic, with unemployment claims rising amid warnings of a recession. [...]
Economists rule out ‘V-shaped’ recovery after weak survey data May 21, 2020 Survey data today showed that the UK economy remained mired in a deep downturn in May despite an improvement from a dire April. Many economists have said that any hopes of a swift ‘V-shaped’ recovery from the coronavirus crash have all but faded. At the beginning of the crisis, policymakers and analysts hoped that once [...]
US sees 2.4m new jobless claims as total nears 40m amid coronavirus May 21, 2020 More than 2.4m Americans made new jobless claims last week, data has shown, as the world’s largest economy continues to shed jobs at a momentous pace during the coronavirus crisis. The latest figure means that roughly 39m new claims for unemployment insurance have been made in the US since March 21. Unemployment has soared to [...]
UK factories suffer biggest drop in output on record, survey shows May 21, 2020 Manufacturing output plunged at the fastest pace since at least 1975 in the three months to May, a survey has shown, as more than 80 per cent of the UK’s factories were hit by the coronavirus lockdown. The CBI’s industrial trends gauge, based on a survey of more than 800 manufacturers, plunged to minus 51 [...]
UK economic pain eases somewhat in May but deep downturn continues May 21, 2020 The UK economy thawed slightly in May from its April deep-freeze as the government eased some coronavirus restrictions, survey data has shown. Yet the economy was still in a dire state, according to a preliminary reading of the IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which measures the health of the private sector. The whole-economy PMI [...]
Eurozone downturn slows but output continues to plunge May 21, 2020 The rapid decline in the Eurozone economy eased up slightly in May as countries lifted coronavirus restrictions, although the single currency area “remained stuck in its deepest downturn ever recorded,” survey data has shown. IHS Markit’s composite purchasing managers’ index for the Eurozone, which gives an early indication of the health of the manufacturing and [...]
Germany’s economic crash eases as it lifts coronavirus lockdown May 21, 2020 The plunge in German business activity eased somewhat in May, survey data has shown, although Europe’s biggest economy remained in a dire position even as it eased coronavirus restrictions. IHS Markit’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which gauges the health of the private sector, rose markedly to 31.4 in May from 17.4 in April, according [...]
Crispin Odey: Governments may ban private gold ownership May 20, 2020 Hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey has warned that governments may ban private ownership of gold if they lose control of inflation in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The price of gold has soared since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as jittery investors flock to safe haven assets amid a wider recession. Odey said [...]
BoE’s Andrew Bailey: It would be ‘foolish’ to rule out negative interest rates May 20, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said it would be “foolish” to rule out negative interest rates but said the BoE is “not ruling it in” either. The governor has previously argued against negative rates but admitted today: “I have changed my position a bit.” Chatter about negative interest rates has increased in recent [...]