German factory orders plunge as global demand dries up June 5, 2020 German factory orders plunged in April at a much faster rate than expected as coronavirus hit the global economy and caused demand to dry up. Factory orders dropped 25.8 per cent in April compared to a month earlier, when they fell by 15 per cent. The figure was far below the 19.7 per cent contraction [...]
A pro-growth vision for the UK economy June 5, 2020 The UK needs a pro-growth economic policy. That is one of the key lessons likely to arise from this crisis. It is also the central message of a new report that I have co-authored for the think tank Policy Exchange. The pro-growth strategy should be based on three arrows: credible fiscal activism, monetary and financial [...]
Consumer confidence hovers near record low during coronavirus crisis June 5, 2020 Consumer confidence continued to teeter on the brink of hitting record lows during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Consumer confidence dipped two points to minus 36, just three points above the record low of minus 39 reported in July 2018, as house prices fell and unemployment rose. However, GfK’s major purchase index rose six points, showing [...]
Scrap BoE’s two per cent inflation target, says think tank June 4, 2020 The Bank of England’s (BoE) two per cent inflation target should be scrapped and replaced with a four per cent nominal GDP target, a think tank has said. A Policy Exchange paper published tomorrow urges the government to consider temporary tax cuts to boost the economy after the pandemic. Some of the measures proposed include [...]
Airlines, a bakery and a football club claim BoE coronavirus cash June 4, 2020 Famous UK and foreign firms from across the economy have turned to the Bank of England for coronavirus loans, official figures have shown, with companies from John Lewis to football club Tottenham Hotspur selling the bank their bonds. German chemicals company BASF is currently the biggest borrower on the Bank’s covid corporate financing facility (CCFF), [...]
US new jobless claims: 1.9m filings take total above 42m June 4, 2020 Another 1.9m Americans made new jobless claims last week as the economy battled coronavirus, taking the total number of claims since the pandemic began to above 42m. It was the first sub-2m number since Covid-19 began to ravage the US economy, however, with some analysts predicting the worst is over for growth. A week earlier, [...]
ECB beefs up bond-buying to €1.35 trillion to boost Eurozone economy June 4, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) has dramatically increased its bond-buying programme in a bid to stimulate the moribund Eurozone economy, which has been battered by coronavirus. The ECB added €600bn (£540bn) to its €750bn pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP), which it launched in March. It kept its main deposit interest rate on hold at minus [...]
We risk entrenching racial inequalities unless we change our economic response to Covid-19 June 4, 2020 Like many, I have been deeply worried by the growing evidence about the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our black and ethnic minority (BAME) communities. Public Health England’s latest research, released this week, shows that BAME communities are at far higher risk of catching Covid-19 and are at greater risk of dying from the disease [...]
Sterling will weaken if Britain fails to ask for Brexit transition extension June 4, 2020 Sterling will lose recent gains against the dollar and weaken further if the UK does not ask for an extension of its Brexit transition period, according to a Reuters survey. The pound has strengthened this week, trading at a one-month high of $1.26 yesterday as the UK suggested it may compromise on some contentious issues [...]
UK construction sector decline slows but industry remains gloomy June 4, 2020 The rapid decline in the UK construction sector slowed somewhat in May, but firms remained deeply pessimistic as the industry was battered by coronavirus. The IHS Markit/Cips construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 28.9 in May from a record low of 8.2 in April. Yet a score of 50 indicates that the sector contracted [...]