FTSE 100 closes deep in the red amid new coronavirus lockdowns October 15, 2020 London markets plunge on increased social restrictions, with travel and leisure firms dragging FTSE 100 lower
New US jobless claims unexpectedly rise as election approaches October 15, 2020 The number of Americans making a new claim for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week as the economic recovery stuttered, posing a problem for Donald Trump with just weeks until the presidential election. New US jobless claims came in at 898,000 in the week that ended on 9 October, the Department of Labor said today. [...]
Banks not ready for negative interest rates, says Natwest chairman October 15, 2020 British banks are not ready to implement negative interest rates, the chairman of Natwest said today. “We’re not completely ready for it,” Howard Davies said during an interview. “There would be technical issues and many contractual issues.” The chairman said he was not in favour of negative rates being introduced, telling Bloomberg Radio there was [...]
Nine per cent of employees on furlough as scheme nears end October 15, 2020 Just over nine per cent of Britain’s workforce remain on furlough with less than a month to go before the scheme is replaced by less generous job support measures, a survey showed. Some 9.1 per cent of workers were furloughed during the two weeks to 4 October, according to a survey of businesses by the [...]
Mayfair hedge fund takes £140m stake in British Airways owner October 15, 2020 One of the UK’s largest hedge funds has taken out a large position in embattled British Airways owner IAG amid the worst crisis in aviation history. £35bn Marshall Wace today disclosed a three per cent stake in the airlines group, making it one of IAG’s largest stockholders. The Mayfair-based fund has previously taken out short [...]
National Grid launches £700m subsea power link October 15, 2020 National Grid (NG) will today open its latest energy interconnector, which will provide enough clean power for 1m households. The 149-mile-long power cable, which runs between Portsmouth and Caen in France, allows the two nations to share excess zero carbon power. By the end of its first year in operation, IFA2 will have helped avoid [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slip into the red in choppy session October 14, 2020 The FTSE 100 bucked the European trend and slipped into the red along with US stocks as investors weighed up the path of the coronavirus pandemic, company earnings, and geopolitics. London’s main stock index rose in morning trading. But a sharp climb in sterling set the index back in the afternoon. It was last down [...]
Sterling jumps amid hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal October 14, 2020 The pound jumped past the $1.30 mark after suggestions that the EU and UK could yet reach a post-Brexit trade deal cheered investors. Sterling was up 0.8 per cent by around 2.30pm UK time at $1.203. It was 0.6 per cent higher against the euro at €1.108. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission boss [...]
The maths of why growth companies are beating value October 14, 2020 | City Talk One of the side effects of low interest rates is that, because of the way that companies are valued, investors place a higher value on companies (and investment projects) which have a low probability, high payoff, a long time in the future. This helps explain why investors have been prepared to pay up for loss-making [...]
EU markets watchdog working on ‘Plan B’ to move euro clearing from London October 14, 2020 The European markets watchdog is working on a “Plan B” that would move clearing of euro-denominated derivatives out of London if the bloc decides not to grant the UK long-term access to its markets. The London Stock Exchange’s LCH unit has been given permission by the bloc to continue clearing derivatives for EU customers for [...]