Coronavirus: Employees can defer annual leave for two years, says business secretary March 28, 2020 Employees unable to take all their annual leave this year due to the coronavirus pandemic will be allowed to carry it over for two years, the business secretary announced today. Alok Sharma, standing in for self-isolating Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the government’s daily briefing, said the government had introduced new measures to facilitate this. [...]
Trump signs largest financial stimulus package in US history March 28, 2020 US President Donald Trump has signed the largest financial stimulus package in US history, worth a total of $2tn (£1.7tn). The cross-party bill was passed by the House of Representatives as the country attempts to control the fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of US citizens filing for unemployment reached record highs on [...]
FTSE 100 falls as coronavirus stimulus rally runs out of steam March 27, 2020 Britain’s FTSE 100 stock index tumbled today after three consecutive days of gains as uncertainty about the effects of coronavirus returned to the fore. The FTSE 100 closed 5.3 per cent lower at 5,510 points. It had risen more than 16 per cent over the previous three days after the US launched a $2 trillion [...]
US stocks fall as coronavirus fears return March 27, 2020 US stocks have opened lower following one of Wall Street’s best three-day runs in history as economic concerns about the coronavirus outbreak once again weighed on investors’ minds. The S&P 500 index was down 3.6 per cent in early trading, the Dow Jones was four per cent lower and the Nasdaq had fallen 3.7 per [...]
China’s Xi Jinping offers Donald Trump help with coronavirus March 27, 2020 Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered President Donald Trump China’s support in fighting coronavirus as it spreads rapidly through the US, bringing tensions between the two countries down a notch. Xi’s offer came after the number of coronavirus cases in the US overtook those in China. The US now has more than 84,900 confirmed infections [...]
How are the central banks battling coronavirus? March 27, 2020 | City Talk As countries ramp up efforts to control the pandemic, the economic impact of Covid-19 is having an impact on currency values As the reality of the pandemic begins to bite, it’s clear that normal rules no longer apply. Economies across the world are plummeting and governments are scrambling to protect as much as they can [...]
Coronavirus: China factory profit slump bodes ill for US and Europe March 27, 2020 Profits at China’s factories crashed in January and February as coronavirus ravaged the economy, in a sign of the heavy toll the pandemic is set to take on companies around the world. Chinese industrial firms’ profits plunged 38.8 per cent year on year to 410.7bn yuan (£47.63bn). It was the steepest fall since records began [...]
Coronavirus: Consumer confidence plunges but avoids 2008 levels March 27, 2020 Consumer sentiment has plummeted due to coronavirus, although it has yet to fall to the levels reported during the 2008 financial crisis, according to the latest research. Sentiment dropped 29 points to minus 26 between December last year and this March, the sharpest quarterly fall in more than 10 years. However it is higher than [...]
Coronavirus: US stocks shake off dire unemployment data March 26, 2020 US stocks shook off awful unemployment data this afternoon to climb higher as traders pinned their hopes on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package. The Nasdaq rose 3.5 per cent by 4.30pm, while the Dow Jones climbed a whopping 4.9 per cent. The S&P 500 posted a large rise of 4.3 per cent. Yesterday the [...]
Coronavirus: Bank of England holds rates but paints gloomy economic picture March 26, 2020 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at the record low level of 0.1 per cent but signalled it is prepared to take further action to tackle the effects of coronavirus. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) today said it “stands ready to respond further as necessary to guard against an unwarranted [...]