London economy’s post-election bounce continues March 9, 2020 London’s private sector grew strongly in February, survey data has shown, even as the coronavirus outbreak took its toll on tourism. The Natwest/IHS Markit London purchasing managers’ index posted 56 in February, down slightly from 56.5 in January but stronger than the long-run average. A score of above 50 indicates that the private sector expanded. [...]
UK small businesses gloomy about coronavirus and Brexit March 9, 2020 Worries over the impact of Brexit and coronavirus mean more than 70 per cent of the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses do not expect the country’s economy to grow during the rest of 2020, according to new survey data. The pessimism about growth means firms 57 per cent of firms are unlikely to invest in [...]
Can interest rate cuts help economies deal with coronavirus? March 8, 2020 Last Tuesday, the coronavirus outbreak drove the US Federal Reserve to do something it hadn’t done since the 2008 financial crisis: slash interest rates in an emergency move. Fed chair Jay Powell said rate-setters had “come to the view that it is time for us to act in the support of the economy”. The economic [...]
Neil Woodford in talks with investors as he plots comeback March 7, 2020 Neil Woodford and a number of colleagues from Woodford Investment Management (WIM) are in talks with investors about snapping up a number of the fallen fund manager’s old investments. Woodford has held talks with institutional and wealth managers in recent weeks about creating a vehicle to buy back some of the unquoted WIM stakes, according [...]
Coronavirus fear returns to Wall Street as global markets slide March 7, 2020 The US stock market followed the suit of other global markets by plunging further on Friday as coronavirus fears continued to grip investors. The Dow Jones fell by one per cent, or 256 points, to finish the week on 25,865 points. Meanwhile, other major indices, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, saw losses of 1.7 [...]
Budget 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak to scrap ‘tampon tax’ March 6, 2020 The so-called tampon tax is set to be abolished in next week’s Budget. A zero rate of VAT will apply to women’s sanitary products from the start of next year. The UK has been obliged to pay the EU VAT Directive since 1973 and the tampon tax is currently five per cent. MPs voted against [...]
Sterling strikes back March 6, 2020 | City Talk GBP / EUR Update The pound started the week on the back foot after a tough end to last week. Brexit concerns weighed heavily after the UK stated it would walk away from unsatisfactory negotiations. The EU feels that this will not be the case, but the overall view is that both sides are underestimating [...]
The C-word March 6, 2020 | City Talk And we aren’t just talking about coronavirus There are a number of ways coronavirus has affected economies, shares, production and of course currency markets. From currencies experiencing decreased demand to Asian currencies bearing the brunt of the market’s aversion to risk, the foreign exchange market began to show clear signs of being impacted by the [...]
Government bond yields sink to record low on coronavirus disruption March 6, 2020 Government bond yields sunk to fresh historic lows as fears over the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on global growth sent investors rushing to safe haven assets. Concerns over the outbreak have sent equities tumbling across the globe and pushed the price of several government bonds to historic highs, while yields (which move inversely to [...]
Government has spent £4.4bn on Brexit preparations March 6, 2020 The UK government has spent at least £4.4bn of taxpayers’ money on preparations to leave the EU, the public spending watchdog said today. The National Audit Office (NAO) said most of the money was spent on staff costs, building new infrastructure and paying for external advice. The government overall only spent about 70 per cent [...]