Energy bills rise could see customers trapped in ‘vicious circle of debt’ February 5, 2021 April’s price cap increase could plunge consumers into debt that suppliers have been unable to recover during the pandemic, according to Uswitch.com. Industry observers have responded to Ofgem’s announcement today that energy bills will rise by £93 to pre-pandemic levels from 1 April. The price cap, which will affect 11 million default tariff customers, has [...]
Wall Street opens at record high on stimulus progress February 5, 2021 The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened at record highs on today on signs of progress towards more economic stimulus, while a closely watched jobs report confirmed the labor market was stabilising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points, or 0.12 per cent, at the open to 31093.81. The S&P 500 rose 6.6 points, [...]
Negative interest rates remain a distant and unlikely prospect February 5, 2021 The BoE effectively gave the financial sector six months to prepare for thepossible use of negative rates, but that should be long enough for the UKeconomy to move into vaccine-fuelled recovery and remove the need forsuch an emergency move, which would also risk unintendedconsequences, according to Ian Williams, economics & strategy research analyst at Peel [...]
Wall Street rises on stimulus talks as FTSE 100 closes flat February 4, 2021 Wall Street pushed higher this afternoon as investors looked to corporate earnings and signs of progress on more pandemic stimulus. The Dow Jones was up 0.91 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.86 and 0.88 per cent respectively. It came after the FTSE 100 closed four points lower this afternoon as sterling [...]
Sterling jumps following BoE’s decision to hold interest rates February 4, 2021 The pound rebounded this afternoon as the Bank of England announced it would leave interest rates unchanged. The currency saw its biggest fall in three weeks this morning as traders nervously waited to see whether the BoE would formally endorse negative interest rates. The Prudential Regulation Authority’s analysis found the UK would need six months [...]
Bank of England holds rates, and would need half a year for negative rates February 4, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) has today left interest rates on hold at 0.1 per cent and its bond-buying programme at £895bn. The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep rates at record-low levels. It also confirmed that it would take six months for banks to get ready for negative interest rates should [...]
Shell posts $21bn loss as coronavirus sends oil industry plunging into the red February 4, 2021 Shell this morning posted a $21.6bn (£15.9bn) full year loss as the full costs of the coronavirus were laid bare. The loss marked a massive swing to the red for the oil giant, which made a $15bn profit in 2019. However, speaking to reporters this morning chief executive Ben van Beurden promised a “much more [...]
Petrofac snaps up new deals worth £220m in Oman February 4, 2021 Oil field services firm Petrofac today announced it had won two contracts worth a combined $300m (£220m) from Oman’s petroleum development outfit. Shares in the firm rose 1.5 per cent in early trading today. The first of these, at Marmul in the south of the Gulf state, is a 30 month contract to build and [...]
SPACs: The blank cheque vehicles loved by Richard Branson, Tidjane Thiam and Wilbur Ross February 4, 2021 With backing from the likes of Richard Branson, former US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, City grandee Martin Gilbert and even the boss of the LSE, the vehicles known as special acquisition companies (SPACs) provide a quick and easy way for private companies to go public.
Kaz Minerals owner tables £3.7bn bid to take miner private February 4, 2021 Kaz Minerals has this morning received an increased £3.7bn offer from Nova Resources after an earlier bid was rejected. Nova, which is led by Kaz chairman Oleg Novachuk, first made a 640p per share offer for the London-listed miner back in October. However, due to a rise in global copper prices, the firm’s shares have [...]