US jobless claims: 1.48m more file for benefits as total hits 47m June 25, 2020 More than three months into the coronavirus crisis, millions more Americans are still filing for unemployment benefits each week. According to the US labour department, 1.48m people filed claims last week, marking a slowdown from the previous week’s figure of 1.54m. Economists had predicted a bigger drop to around 1.3m. While it marks the twelfth [...]
UK debt office plays down risk of failed gilt auctions June 24, 2020 Britain is unlikely to struggle to sell bonds at future debt auctions, the head of the UK’s Debt Management Office said on Wednesday, after the Bank of England’s governor said market turmoil in March had risked causing difficulties. Speaking at a hearing of the Treasury select committee, Sir Robert Stheeman said it was “not obvious” [...]
IMF: Global economy facing $12 trillion hit from coronavirus June 24, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will trigger the biggest hit to global growth since the Great Depression and cost the global economy an estimated $12 trillion (£9.6 trillion), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today. The virus is causing wider and deeper damage to the global economy than first thought, the organisation said as it slashed its [...]
ECB chief economist: Don’t get too excited by solid eurozone data June 24, 2020 Solid data may not be a good guide to how the eurozone is recovering from its deepest economic crisis in recent memory, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) chief economist said. Having suffered a historic drop in output in April, the bloc’s economy is starting to revive as some restrictions to limit the spread of the [...]
US new home sales rebound more than expected in May June 23, 2020 Sales of new single-family homes in the US increased more than expected in May, indicating that the country’s housing market could be on the cusp of recovery after being battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. New home sales jumped 16.6 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units last month, according to new [...]
US PMI: Downturn eases in June as coronavirus restrictions lifted June 23, 2020 US private sector activity contracted for a fifth straight month in June, but the pace of decline eased as the world’s largest economy began to lift coronavirus lockdowns, according to a flash PMI survey. IHS Markit’s flash composite PMI reading, which which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, rose to a reading of 46.8 last [...]
Eurozone PMI: Coronavirus downturn slows as lockdowns ease June 23, 2020 The historic eurozone economic downturn slowed markedly for the second month running in June as lockdowns were further relaxed, but a V-shaped recovery may be unlikely, according to new PMI surveys. IHS Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading showed the eurozone hit a four-month high with a score of 47.5 in June. Anything below [...]
UK economy set to return to growth in third quarter after coronavirus chaos June 23, 2020 The UK economy’s coronavirus-induced downturn eased in June as key health indicators hit a four-month high, according to a closely-followed survey. The UK’s economic output hit a measure of 47.6 on IHS Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a four-month high. Anything below 50 represents a contraction. But it was a stark improvement from May’s [...]
Tax system to the rescue: Six policy tweaks that could kickstart the economy June 23, 2020 The past three months have seen a deluge of economic, political, and legal moves that would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. As civil liberties were curtailed on a scale never seen in peacetime and ten million children were turned away from school, new hospitals were built in a matter of weeks, [...]
Sajid Javid: Slash taxes and ramp up spending to fuel UK recovery June 23, 2020 Britain should reduce the National Insurance tax and pour money into infrastructure and the poorest regions of the country to boost the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis, according to former chancellor Sajid Javid. Javid, who left the Treasury as part of Boris Johnson’s February cabinet reshuffle, warned against a return to the austerity [...]