Oil prices sink below $28 on Covid-19 travel bans March 18, 2020 Oil prices have fallen below $28 a barrel as coronavirus continues to batter the world economy. Worldwide travel bans as a result of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic have driven oil prices down even further after a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The price of Brent crude fell four per cent to $27.64 today. [...]
US stock markets rebound after new Fed coronavirus action March 17, 2020 US stock markets today clawed back around half of yesterday’s losses after their worst session since 1987’s Black Monday crash as the Fed’s move to buy companies’ short-term debt cooled fears. The S&P 500 closed six per cent higher, the Dow Jones finished 5.2 per cent, up and the Nasdaq climbed 6.2 per cent. The [...]
Donald Trump weighing up sending Americans cheques amid coronavirus March 17, 2020 The US government is weighing up sending cheques to American citizens as it tries to negotiate a $850bn (£700bn) stimulus package with Congress to deal with the economic consequences of coronavirus. US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said the government could send cheques – which could be worth $1000 – to Americans in the next two [...]
Brexit talks scrapped as coronavirus escalates March 17, 2020 The second round of trade talks between the UK and the EU have been cancelled in light of the escalating coronavirus outbreak. Negotiating teams led by David Frost on the UK’s side and Michel Barnier on the EU’s were due to meet in London tomorrow to continue to thrash out a deal to set the [...]
City of London Corporation to scale down during coronavirus outbreak March 17, 2020 The City of London Corporation will move to postpone some of its set piece events and limit the number of face-to-face meetings during the Covid-19 outbreak. The local authority sent out a statement today, signalling it would postpone some of its major fixtures, such as the June Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House. The [...]
Federal Reserve launches corporate debt purchases to tackle coronavirus fallout March 17, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has continued its dramatic intervention in the markets with a pledge to buy short-term corporate debt to help ease the strain on companies amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Fed will relaunch the financial crisis-era system and buy up so-called commercial paper directly from firms that issue it. Companies use commercial paper [...]
Coronavirus: Elderly should stay away from Mother’s Day lunch March 17, 2020 The over-70s should avoid Mother’s Day lunch with their children and grandchildren the chief scientific adviser has said today, as he warns that 20,000 coronavirus-related deaths would be “a good outcome”. Sir Patrick Vallance, who has been one of the two chief medical experts to appear alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson during recent press conferences, [...]
London City Airport backs calls for government support March 17, 2020 London City Airport is scheduled to have just over 20 per cent of its usual flight capacity today as the airport looks for government assistance during the coronavirus outbreak. The Royal Docks airport, which caters mostly to business travellers, is due to have a combined 51 departures and arrivals today. This is just 23 per [...]
Coronavirus: UK confirmed cases rise by over 400 to reach 1,950 March 17, 2020 The Department of Health has announced that there have now been 1,950 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, up from 1,543 yesterday. The jump in cases is the biggest yet recorded in the UK and comes after the government warned that the country was likely to enter a surge. On Twitter the Department also [...]
Coronavirus to spark record drop in international travel March 17, 2020 Coronavirus is expected to cause a 10.5 per cent drop in international travel this year – the worst fall on record – as the outbreak sparks chaos across the tourism and leisure industries. Industry consultancy Tourism Economics has downgraded its estimate as coronavirus continues to spread across Europe, prompting governments to impose travel bans and [...]