FTSE 100 and US stocks rise despite more dire economic warnings May 7, 2020 US stocks have joined the FTSE 100 in positive territory as investors bet on a relatively speedy economic recovery from coronavirus despite yet more dire economic predictions. London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 1.4 per cent at 5,933 points in afternoon trading. This was despite the Bank of England warning of the worst slump [...]
Health and wealth: ‘fit-tech’ steps up the pace May 7, 2020 | City Talk Fitness is far from an obvious winner from government instructions to ‘stay home’. Gyms are firmly closed. People making the most of the ‘one form of exercise’ allowed by the government are the only people in parks. In these inauspicious circumstances, though, there is heightened awareness of personal fitness. In the early days of lockdown, [...]
An Interview with Massimo Buonomo May 7, 2020 | City Talk Massimo Buonomo is a former United Nations (UN) Alliance of Civilization Global Expert in Blockchain, Fintech and Regtech. Massimo is currently exploring how blockchain solutions can be used to address the challenges addressed by Covid-19. BEQUANT Talks has undertaken an exclusive interview with Massimo to explore his views on the state of the market and [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 rises as countries lift coronavirus lockdowns May 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 and European stocks have risen, boosted by gains in healthcare even as dire economic data lays bare the effects of coronavirus. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was trading 0.65 per cent higher before falling slightly to trade up 0.17 per cent at 5,859 points. It climbed around 1.8 per cent yesterday. The mid-cap [...]
Activists and coronavirus: Funds will target devalued firms after crisis May 5, 2020 Much has been made of the comparison between the coronavirus crisis and the global financial crash over a decade ago. The pandemic has left dozens of listed UK companies in need of a lifeline, with the travel and leisure sectors devastated by government-imposed restrictions. FTSE firms across all sectors have witnessed their stocks implode as [...]
Trump hails climbing oil prices as lockdowns begin to lift around world May 5, 2020 Oil prices leapt upwards today on hopes that the easing of coronavirus lockdowns around the world would boost demand, prompting encouraging tweets from US president Donald Trump. After weeks of extreme volatility, both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) posted their fifth consecutive day of gains. Worldwide standard Brent crude, which two weeks ago [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks rise as countries ease coronavirus lockdowns May 5, 2020 US stocks have followed the FTSE 100 higher on the back of an oil price rally and hopes that economies could start to heal as countries and states lift coronavirus restrictions. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was 1.8 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 5,856 points. It had fallen 0.2 per cent yesterday. The mid-cap [...]
Germany’s top court tells ECB to justify bond-buying programme May 5, 2020 Germany’s highest court has said the European Central Bank can continue buying bonds but must prove that purchases under its crisis-era programme are necessary within three months or Germany’s central bank must stop participating in the scheme. However, the judges’ decision does not impinge on the ECB’s coronavirus bond-buying scheme, under which it has pledged [...]
How have sustainable companies performed during the Covid-19 crisis? May 5, 2020 | City Talk Rather than being a luxury or an optional extra, our analysis shows that a focus on sustainability would have helped relative performance during the recent market turbulence. Here at Schroders, our view of sustainable investing is that companies who treat their stakeholders fairly will see better share price performance than those who do not. There [...]
Oil prices rise on storage hopes as Asian stocks recover May 5, 2020 Oil prices extended their gains this morning on hopes fuel demand would begin to pick up as an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures also pushed up Asian stocks. Brent crude rose 4.3 per cent to $28.37 a barrel, while US crude was up 1.38 per cent to $21.77 a barrel as crude supply cuts took [...]