US stocks slide after retail sales and factory output plunge April 15, 2020 US stocks have opened sharply lower after retail sales fell by the biggest amount on record and manufacturing output plunged. Wall Street’s S&P 500 index was 2.5 per cent lower shortly after the bell. The Dow Jones was down 2.2 per cent and the Nasdaq was also down 2.2 per cent. The falls came after [...]
Lending through UK coronavirus scheme hits £1.1bn after three weeks April 15, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus business loan scheme has picked up after firms complained it was not working, with £1.1bn lent out to 6,020 small and medium-sized companies as of yesterday. Banking body UK Finance today said total lending under the scheme has grown by £700m in the last week after criticism of the programme led the [...]
Oil prices dip as investors ‘boo’ Opec production cut April 15, 2020 Oil prices have slipped this morning as investors worry that huge production cuts will not be enough to offset the slump in demand amid a deep, coronavirus-driven global recession. Brent crude fell 2.4 per cent to $28.90 per barrel in early London trading. US crude was 0.9 per cent lower at $19.94. The falls mean [...]
Rishi Sunak says there is ‘no trade off’ between economy and public health April 14, 2020 Rishi Sunak has said there is no trade-off between public health and the economy in the wake of new estimates suggesting GDP will drop by 35 per cent this quarter. Speaking at today’s press briefing, the chancellor said the coronavirus lockdown was necessary to protect the long-term future of the economy. This is in contrast [...]
US stocks rise as investors focus on Chinese trade recovery April 14, 2020 US stocks have risen sharply in early trading as investors take heart in better-than-expected Chinese economic data and as state governors weigh up easing coronavirus lockdowns. The S&P 500 index was 2.3 per cent higher roughly an hour after the bell. The Dow Jones was up two per cent and the Nasdaq had risen 3.1 [...]
Coronavirus: UK economy could shrink by 35 per cent in second quarter April 14, 2020 The UK economy could shrink by 35 per cent in the second quarter of this year and unemployment could hit 10 per cent as coronavirus lockdown measures take a devastating toll, Britain’s budget watchdog has warned. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said such a slowdown could send the budget deficit to its highest level [...]
Coronavirus: Global economy to suffer worst year since 1930s April 14, 2020 The global economy will shrink by three per cent in 2020 as coronavirus triggers the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today. Although the IMF said growth will rebound in 2021 to 5.8 per cent, it said predictions were uncertain and the size of the recovery will depend [...]
Sajid Javid: Right policies can make economy’s coronavirus recovery ‘V-shaped’ April 14, 2020 Former chancellor Sajid Javid has said the UK economy’s recovery from coronavirus can be “V-shaped” if the government follows “free market” policies once the worst of the virus has passed. Javid – who was chancellor for seven months until February – today welcomed his successor Rishi Sunak’s unprecedented interventions into the economy. Sunak has unveiled [...]
Coronavirus: Banks approve 1.2m mortgage holidays amid financial strain April 14, 2020 More than 1.2m UK households have agreed mortgage holidays with their banks, figures have shown, as the coronavirus crisis causes borrowers unprecedented financial stress. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on 17 March that households with mortgages would be entitled to three-month payment holidays, meaning payments would be suspended. It was part of an unprecedented coronavirus response [...]
UK benefit claims surge to 1.4m as coronavirus economic crisis bites April 14, 2020 The UK has received about 1.4m new benefit claims for welfare payments as the coronavirus lockdown freezes large sections of the economy. “It’s now up to about 1.4m,” Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told the BBC, adding that the figure included Universal Credit and job seekers’ allowance or employment support allowance. “We are capable [...]