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 [...]
US unemployment skyrockets as coronavirus crashes economy March 26, 2020 The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits skyrocketed at the fastest pace on record last week as coronavirus laid waste to the US economy, data showed today. Jobless claims soared to 3.3 million in the week to 21 March from 282,000 a week earlier, according to the US Department of Labor (DoL). “This marks the [...]
Coronavirus: Moody’s downgrades outlook for Europe’s biggest banking systems March 26, 2020 Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded the outlook for six of Europe’s biggest banking systems to “negative” as coronavirus threatens lenders’ profitability and asset quality. Moody’s said the banking systems of France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium face a very difficult year and can therefore no longer keep their “stable” rating. The ratings agency [...]
ECB ditches rules limiting €750bn coronavirus bond purchases March 26, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) has scrapped nearly all limits to its bond-buying programme, significantly widening the scope of the €750bn (£700bn) of asset purchases it announced last week. The Eurozone’s central bank has previously followed self-imposed rules that say it cannot buy more than a third of a country’s sovereign debt. The Bank was [...]
BoE and Treasury to resume coordinated response to prevent coronavirus slump March 26, 2020 The Bank of England (BoE) and Treasury will resume their coordinated drive to prevent the coronavirus-related economic shutdown from triggering a deep recession. The BoE, which has already made two emergency cuts to interest rates this month, is reportedly likely to hold off on further action when it makes a statement at noon after its [...]
UK retail sales miss expectations before March’s coronavirus hit March 26, 2020 UK retail sales slumped 0.3 per cent in February to miss expectations of a small rise of 0.2 per cent. And core UK retail sales dropped 0.5 per cent on a monthly basis, deeper than expected in February, despite few businesses seeing the coronavirus-led slowdown that has wrought havoc in March. Excluding fuel, UK retail [...]