Budget 2020: Growth forecasts ‘incredibly grim and far too optimistic’ March 12, 2020 The forecasts produced yesterday by the UK’s Budget watchdog managed to be both “incredibly grim and far too optimistic,” according to a leading think tank. The Resolution Foundation warned that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) growth writedown – which did not even factor in the full effect of coronavirus – would make households in [...]
Coronavirus: Trump’s EU travel ban rattles Asian and US stocks March 12, 2020 Donald Trump last night issued a ban on travel from Europe to the US in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus, rattling US and Asian stocks. Trump suspended all travel from Europe, excluding the UK, to the US for 30 days starting tomorrow to fight the outbreak. The president also announced other moves [...]
DEBATE: Will the business rates reform package be effective enough to react to the coronavirus crisis? March 12, 2020 Will the chancellor’s business rates reform package be effective enough to react to the coronavirus crisis? Lauren McEvatt, managing director of Morpeth Consulting and former government adviser, says YES. This business rates package as a whole, when coupled with the decisive action taken by Bank of England on Wednesday morning and considered alongside other support [...]
Budget 2020: Borrowing to jump while economy slows March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget splurge will put a rocket under government borrowing, the UK’s spending watchdog said today in forecasts that do not include the economic hit from coronavirus. The government is now set to borrow close to £100bn more over the next four years than it planned to just a few months ago, the [...]
FTSE 100 sees red despite rate cut and £30bn coronavirus Budget pledge March 11, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed down 1.4 per cent today as the dual impact of interest rate cuts and new coronavirus stimulus measures failed to impress investors. London’s blue-chip index had jumped as much as 2.1 per cent earlier in the day after the Bank of England announced it would slash UK interest rates to protect [...]
2020 Budget live: City reacts to Rishi Sunak’s spending plans March 11, 2020 Welcome to Morning Wire’s 2020 Budget Day live blog. Please refresh your browser for live updates. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to address fears over the economic impact of coronavirus, and announce waves of new infrastructure spending and changes on taxation in his 2020 Budget. It comes after Bank of England governor Mark Carney earlier [...]
2020 Budget key points: Coronavirus, spending spree and even some jokes March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined a massive spending spree and a £30bn package to shelter the UK economy through the coronavirus crisis in his 2020 Budget today, as the budget watchdog said he would borrow £100bn over five years to do so. The Treasury boss, who had just four weeks to prepare for today’s Budget, even [...]
Budget 2020: Rishi Sunak gives economy £30bn boost amid coronavirus outbreak March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £30bn stimulus package to support the UK economy through the coronavirus outbreak in the biggest spending spree in almost 30 years. Sunak – who was made chancellor last month – said it was one of the most comprehensive responses to the outbreak by any government. The plan earmarks £12bn [...]
UK budget watchdog: Rishi Sunak’s spending spree biggest since 1992 March 11, 2020 The UK’s budget watchdog has called chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending announcements the “largest budget giveaway since 1992” which will add more than £100bn to the public debt by 2024. In the government’s first Budget since the Conservatives’ landslide election victory in December, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £30bn stimulus package to support the economy through [...]
How should investors act in a crisis? March 11, 2020 | City Talk With markets reeling from the effects of coronavirus, Schroders’ Group CIO, Johanna Kyrklund, highlights what investors should focus on. Coronavirus is the latest threat to market harmony that once again poses a timeless question: how should investors act in a crisis? Whether you’re a fund manager, responsible for billions of pounds of other people’s money, [...]