Global bosses predict U-shaped coronavirus recovery April 22, 2020 Global business leaders have predicted economies will fail to post a quick recovery bounce back quickly from the coronavirus crash. Many CEOs worry their firms could cease trading altogether, according to a new survey. Roughly 60 per cent of bosses surveyed by business network YPO said they expect a ‘U-shaped’ coronavirus recovery that features a [...]
Bank governor Andrew Bailey warns against lifting coronavirus measures too quickly April 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned against lifting coronavirus lockdown measures too quickly and putting people’s safety at risk in a bid to boost the economy. Bailey added that a “false start”, when lockdown measures had to be reinstated, “would damage people’s confidence very severely”. The governor’s intervention come amid a heated debate [...]
US home sales slump in March as coronavirus bites April 21, 2020 US home sales tumbled at the fastest rate in over four years in March, figures have shown, as coronavirus containment measures choked off buyer demand in one of the biggest markets in the world. Existing home sales slumped 8.5 per cent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.27m units, the National Association [...]
Unemployment rate set to surge in UK coronavirus lockdown April 21, 2020 The UK unemployment rate is set to rocket amid the coronavirus lockdown, economists warned today as data showed employment at a record high before March. But job vacancies sank by 52,000 year on year to 795,000 for the first three months of 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. UK unemployment also inched up [...]
Coronavirus: UK government borrowing could top £300bn, says think tank April 21, 2020 UK government borrowing could hit £300bn this year as tax receipts collapse and the Treasury pumps money into the economy to tackle the fallout from coronavirus, according to a new report. The £300bn figure, produced today by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank, would be by far the biggest budget deficit since World [...]
US oil prices plummet to 21-year low as demand dries up April 20, 2020 US oil prices have plunged 40 per cent to their lowest level since 1999 as demand dries up and storage facilities struggle to cope with the surplus of oil. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) – the benchmark for US oil – dropped to $11.65 today, amid fears production might have [...]
Coronavirus: UK household finances in worst state since 2011 April 20, 2020 UK households said their finances were in the worst position since 2011 in March as coronavirus battered the economy, according to a new survey. Households also reported that their income from employment plunged at the fastest rate in at least 11 years and fears about job security spiked. The household finance index from data firm [...]
Coronavirus: Bank of England says 35 per cent GDP drop ‘not unrealistic’ April 20, 2020 A Bank of England deputy governor has said the economy could shrink by 35 per cent in the second quarter if the coronavirus lockdown lasts three months, saying the scenario produced last week by the UK’s budget watchdog was not “unrealistic”. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the UK economy could contract by 35 [...]
Italy’s borrowing costs rise as investors await key coronavirus meeting April 20, 2020 Italy’s borrowing costs have risen again today as investors nervously await an EU meeting on Thursday where countries will try to thrash out an agreement on how to tackle the coronavirus fallout. Italian bond yields, which move inversely to prices, have risen in recent weeks as the EU has struggled to find a decisive and [...]
OECD boss: Coronavirus crash will not be as bad as Great Depression April 19, 2020 The coronavirus economic downturn will be “very bad”, but not as bad as the Great Depression despite fears to the contrary, according to the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, said today that the impending global economic crash will not last for four years like [...]