Germany upgrades growth forecast to reflect ‘V-shaped’ recovery September 1, 2020 The German economy will shrink by less than initially expected this year and GDP will recover its pre-coronavirus size by the start of 2022, the country’s government predicted today. Economy minister Peter Altmaier said the government now predicted the economy would shrink by 5.8 per cent this year, compared to a previous estimate of 6.3 [...]
UK factories grow at fastest pace in six years but continue to slash jobs September 1, 2020 The UK manufacturing sector’s output grew at the fastest pace in more than six years in August as factories continued to recover from the coronavirus lockdown, a survey has shown. However, the sector was far from its pre-coronavirus size and firms laid off workers at a rapid rate as they adapted to the new economic [...]
Eurozone manufacturing grows for second month running September 1, 2020 The Eurozone manufacturing sector saw “modest growth” for the second month running in August, according to a new survey, as the bloc’s economic recovery continued. However, the factory sectors in Spain and France stagnated while Greek manufacturing declined for the sixth month in a row. The IHS Markit Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index – a [...]
UK economy unlikely to recover until 2023, KPMG says September 1, 2020 The UK economy is unlikely to reach its pre-Covid level until early 2023, according to new forecasts. KPMG’s latest quarterly economic outlook forecasts UK GDP will plunge 10.3 per cent for the year, downgraded from the 7.2 per cent predicted in June. However, a second lockdown of even just four weeks could leave GDP dropping [...]
Pandemic hysteria is blinding us to the virus’s real risks August 31, 2020 I have long held off writing this column, as I well know it will lead to some hysterical responses. Nevertheless, the credo of any good opinion writer surely must be to be fearless, to fly in the face of received opinion if the cause is just. And there has rarely been a greater need for [...]
Could AI help Rishi Sunak revive the UK economy? August 29, 2020 This was once meant to be the year the government balanced the books, a literal pay off for years of tight purse strings under George Osborne’s austerity programme. Instead, 2020 has seen government debt balloon to over £2 trillion. The coronavirus pandemic has meant UK spending has rocketed far beyond any previous peacetime records, leaving [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not out of firepower’ August 28, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the central bank is “not out of firepower” with which to tackle the coronavirus downturn “by any means”. In fact it seemed like the Bank underestimated the amount of firepower it had left before coronavirus hit, the governor told the online Jackson Hole economic policy symposium. Yet [...]
Eurozone business confidence picks up as bloc stages recovery August 28, 2020 Eurozone businesses became more confident about the economy in August as the bloc gradually recovered from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, according to new survey data. The closely watched Eurozone economic sentiment indicator rose 5.3 points to 87.7 in August, the European Commission said today. However, sentiment remained well below its long term average, [...]
Fed to tolerate higher inflation in major policy shift August 27, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has announced a new approach to monetary policy that will tolerate periods of higher inflation, paving the way for it to leave interest rates near record lows for the foreseeable future. Fed chair Jay Powell announced the central bank would try to achieve inflation averaging two per cent over the longer [...]
UK economy: Retail footfall grows but job vacancies flatline August 27, 2020 The UK economy has continued its mixed recovery, with the number of Britons venturing out to the shops rising again but online job adverts staying flat for the third week in a row. Some areas remained in much worse shape than others, with 51 per cent of workers in the art and entertainment sector furloughed, [...]