Bank and government support to UK firms tops £100bn September 22, 2020 Struggling UK companies have now received more than £100bn worth of support from banks and the government through various coronavirus stimulus schemes, official figures have shown. UK banks have lent out more than £58bn to hard-hit companies through the government-backed coronavirus loan schemes, according to Treasury figures out today. HMRC figures showed that companies have [...]
Republicans or Democrats: who is better for the economy? September 22, 2020 | City Talk We’re in the midst of another US presidential election. And as we do every four years, we’ll hear talk about the presidential cycle and why Republicans, because of their more business-friendly policies, are better for the economy and stock markets than Democrats. But as with so much common knowledge, the evidence for this is much [...]
Bank of England to do ‘everything it can’ during Covid surge September 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE “is going to do everything we can” to help the UK economy as it faces the prospect of a second lockdown. Speaking at a British Chambers of Commerce webinar, Bailey said the recent rise in coronavirus cases and new government restrictions were “extremely difficult news [...]
Government to extend coronavirus loan schemes as cases jump September 21, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend the government’s coronavirus loans schemes in an effort to protect the UK economy during a possible second wave of Covid infections. The four business loans schemes will be extended for applications until the end of November, the Financial Times reported. Banks will be allowed to process the loans [...]
Anneliese Dodds pitches Labour as party of fiscal responsibility September 21, 2020 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said Labour will be a party of fiscal responsibility under its new leadership, while setting out a three-point plan to protect UK businesses from the economic crisis. Dodds used her speech at the virtual Labour conference to call out the government for being “cavalier” with public money, adding that she [...]
Businesses voluntarily return £215m in furlough cash September 21, 2020 UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m of furlough money to the government either because they did not need it or they took it in error. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures released today showed that 80,433 employers have so far returned furlough cash totalling more than £215m handed to them to cover staff [...]
Second local lockdown could cost London more than £2bn September 21, 2020 London could face annual costs of more than £2bn if fresh curfew measures are implemented in the capital, according to a new report. Leading think tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) today warned that 10pm curfews introduced elsewhere in the UK could reverse the country’s economic recovery if slapped on London venues. [...]
Rishi Sunak considers slashing welfare and public sector pay September 20, 2020 Rishi Sunak is reportedly planning on freezng benefits and public sector pay as a part of a bid to offset the Treasury’s coronavirus spending. The government has spent around £190bn in emergency Covid-19 funding, which has put this year’s budget deficit at an estimated £350bn – 12-times higher than pre-crisis expectations. Media speculation has been [...]
Global stocks slip as coronavirus cases rise September 19, 2020 Stock markets around the world continued to stutter this week as an increase in Covid-19 cases in across Europe weighed on market sentiment. Wall Street saw early gains on Friday reverse and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the session posting a third straight week of declines, led by this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and [...]
Bank of England reaction: Will interest rates go negative? September 18, 2020 The Bank of England (BoE) held monetary policy steady yesterday for the second meeting in a row. Interest rates were left at 0.1 per cent and bond-buying at £745bn in a business-as-usual decision. All nine members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) voted in favour of continuing this monetary policy. But analysts, investors and traders [...]