EU must boost capital markets due to coronavirus and Brexit, say finance chiefs June 10, 2020 The European Union needs to deregulate its capital markets to help the economy recover from coronavirus and reduce its reliance on the City of London, according to a panel of industry executives. With huge amounts of debt being sold to counter the economic hit caused by Covid-19 and the bloc set to lose its major [...]
Let the economy reboot itself June 10, 2020 How can the government best support the UK’s economic recovery after the crushing impact of the pandemic? Today, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Civitas are publishing a joint report on the economics of the Covid-19 crisis, written by Professor Len Shackleton and myself. Many are arguing that the crisis has demonstrated the need for [...]
Coronavirus: UK economy set for ‘most severe downturn in modern times’ June 10, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has dragged the UK into the “most severe economic downturn in modern times” with the economy set to contract over seven per cent this year, new forecasts suggest. The UK economy is expected to shrink 7.2 per cent in 2020 and is unlikely to fully recover from the impact of Covid-19 until [...]
BoE’s Cunliffe anticipates ‘great deal of pain’ for financial sector June 9, 2020 The initial shock of the pandemic to the financial system may have passed but another abrupt repricing of risk is possible, according to the Bank of England’s (BoE) deputy governor. “The first phase – the initial shock and adjustment to a far more challenging economic outlook in the near term – has passed,” Sir Jon [...]
Coronavirus unemployment could take seven years to rebound, says think tank June 9, 2020 Levels of unemployment could take seven years to be restored to pre-coronavirus levels, according to a leading UK think tank. Torsten Bell, chief executive at The Resolution Foundation, said today there had been “way too much talk of a v-shaped [economic] recovery” and that based on historical precedents it will take almost a decade for [...]
Eurozone economy shrank less than expected in coronavirus quarter June 9, 2020 The Eurozone economy shrank less than expected in the coronavirus-struck first quarter of 2020, data released today confirmed. The bloc’s economy shrank by 3.6 per cent since the last quarter of 2019, compared to a preliminary report in May that put the drop at 3.8 per cent. Eurozone GDP was 3.1 per cent lower than [...]
French economy set for two-year recovery June 9, 2020 France’s economy will not rebound to pre-coronavirus levels until 2022 as it continues to suffer its worst post-war recession, the central bank said this morning. The Eurozone’s second largest economy is set to contract 10.3 per cent this year, the Bank of France said. However, it will begin to return to health next year, with [...]
World Bank: Coronavirus to hit economic output by 5.2 per cent June 8, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will cause global economic output to contract by 5.2 per cent in 2020, the World Bank has said, as more than 90 per cent of the world’s economies have fallen into recession. Advanced economies are expected to shrink seven per cent in 2020, the Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects report. [...]
BoE: Furlough means UK faces record labour market inactivity June 8, 2020 The UK is facing what appears to be a record level of inactivity in its labour market as huge numbers of people are on furlough or facing unemployment due to Covid-19, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. “We’ve seen activity across the economy collapse, and we’ve seen a rapid rise in inactivity among [...]
Eurozone investor morale improves as bloc ‘wakes from deep sleep’ June 8, 2020 Investor sentiment in the eurozone has risen this month and an assessment of investor expectations hit its highest level since November 2017, according to a new survey. Sentix’s index for the euro zone rose to -24.8 from -41.8 in May, compared with the Reuters consensus forecast for a reading of -22.5. The research firm’s current [...]