OBR: Public borrowing set to top £370bn amid worst crash in 300 years July 14, 2020 Government borrowing could skyrocket to a peacetime high of over £370bn this year as the UK economy suffers its worst economic crash in 300 years, the UK’s budget watchdog has said. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) presented three scenarios, each of which said the UK economy would shrink more than 10 per cent in 2020. [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey says he’s ‘very worried about jobs’ July 13, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the UK economy is showing signs of recovery from the coronavirus crash but he remains worried about unemployment. “We are seeing the economy come back now somewhat, because obviously the restrictions are beginning to be lifted,” he told schoolchildren today at an event organised by Speakers for [...]
The FTSE 100 is lagging behind soaring global markets – but why? July 13, 2020 Stock markets around the world have soared in recent months even as economies crashed, aided by central banks pumping trillions of dollars into the system. But although all stock markets are rising, some are rising faster than others. Britain’s FTSE 100 is lagging behind almost all other major stock indices. It has risen just over [...]
World’s biggest firms to borrow $1 trillion amid coronavirus crash July 13, 2020 The world’s biggest companies are set to borrow as much as $1 trillion (£790bn) this year as they try to weather the coronavirus crisis, according to one of the City’s biggest asset managers. The world’s 900 biggest companies borrowed an additional $384bn between January and May by issuing bonds as they scrambled to strengthen their [...]
Liberal Democrats secure coronavirus briefing with Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey July 12, 2020 Liberal Democrat MPs will get a briefing from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey on Thursday in order to get a more “realistic” view of the British economy. The closed door meeting will give the party’s 11 MPs a chance to quiz the Bank of England boss about the UK’s economic recovery prospects and the [...]
UK government bond yields hit record low July 10, 2020 Short-dated UK government bond yields hit new lows today as unprecedented interventions from the Bank of England combined with economic uncertainty to boost the gilt market. The yield – which moves inversely to price – on the 2-year bond or gilt dropped to minus 0.122 per cent in morning trading before rebounding slightly. The yield [...]
Moody’s: UK to suffer worst crash of any big economy July 10, 2020 The UK will suffer the worst economic crash of any major economy this year, credit ratings agency Moody’s has predicted, with Brexit acting as a drag after the coronavirus crisis. Moody’s also said government debt as a share of national income will balloon by 24 percentage points compared to its 2019 level, two days after [...]
IEA raises oil demand forecast but warns of coronavirus threat July 10, 2020 The International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its 2020 oil demand forecast today but warned the ongoing spread of coronavirus could cause more disruption. The organisation raised its oil demand forecast to 92.1m barrels per day, 400,000 higher than its prediction last month as the virus-struck second quarter suffered a smaller decline than expected. But the [...]
London house prices flatline amid coronavirus uncertainty July 10, 2020 London house prices stayed flat in the second quarter of this year as coronavirus took an uneven toll on the property market across the country, according to new figures. The Halifax house price index on Tuesday showed that UK house prices fell for the fourth month in a row in June. That meant house prices [...]
Asian stocks drop as US coronavirus cases soar July 10, 2020 Asian stocks dipped this morning as several US states recorded soaring new coronavirus cases, sparking concern about economic recovery. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.74 per cent while Japanese stocks were down by 0.58 per cent. China’s Shanghai composite index dropped 1.5 per cent as state media discouraged retail investors from [...]