Pound plunges after Boris Johnson admitted to intensive care April 6, 2020 The pound fell sharply against the dollar and euro this evening after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care. The Prime Minister was permitted to St Thomas’ Hospital last night with persistent symptoms of coronavirus. He moved to intensive care at roughly 7pm this evening after his condition deteriorated, Downing Street confirmed. The [...]
Oil prices continue fall amid fears production cuts won’t go far enough April 6, 2020 Oil prices have continued to fall this afternoon amid fears that proposed cuts to production will not go far enough to stabilise prices, which have been in freefall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Benchmark Brent crude fell over five per cent to stand at $32.3, while West Texas Intermediate shed seven per cent to hit [...]
US stocks jump as investors cheer apparent coronavirus slowdown April 6, 2020 US stocks have surged in early trading as investors are encouraged by an apparent slowdown in the spread of coronavirus. The S&P 500 jumped 4.9 per cent while the Dow Jones was up 5.2 per cent. The Nasdaq climbed 4.8 per cent. Stocks were higher in Europe too. The UK’s FTSE 100 was up 2.8 [...]
Coronavirus squeezes mutual funds causing record fund outflows April 6, 2020 The coronavirus-induced market slump caused record fund outflows last month, with fixed income funds particularly badly hit. Investors redeemed a record £3.1bn of their fund holdings in March, according to global funds network Calastone. It represents almost three times the outflows recorded in the previous worst month in June 2016 when the UK voted to [...]
Oil prices slip as investors doubt Saudi-Russia agreement April 6, 2020 Oil prices have fallen despite the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund saying Russia and Saudi Arabia are “very, very close” to a deal on supply cuts. Brent crude was down 2.5 per cent at $33.30 in a sign that investors are sceptical an agreement will be reached. US West Texas Intermediate was two per [...]
FTSE 100 rises with Europe set to ease coronavirus lockdowns April 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 has risen as investors are cheered by signs that the spread of coronavirus is slowing and as Europe prepares to ease lockdowns. London’s blue-chip index had risen 2.2 per cent to 5,532 points by midday. Last week, the FTSE 100 fell as data releases laid bare the damage coronavirus is causing to [...]
NMC Health strives to avoid administration after being hit by creditor court action April 6, 2020 Scandal-hit NMC Health is working to avoid going into administration after being hit by a court action brought by one of its creditors. The London-listed company said today that lawyers acting for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) filed an application on 2 April in the High Court to appoint administrators to NMC with a hearing [...]
Growing European Coronavirus fears April 3, 2020 | City Talk Sterling and the Euro – a story of two halves. The pound had another resilient week, strengthening by an average of 1.9% against the other major currencies. This is despite the downgrade of Britain’s credit rating by Fitch. The pound’s strength can be attributed to the US Federal Reserve announcing billions of liquidity to stabilise [...]
Waiting on a good exchange rate? April 3, 2020 | City Talk In time of uncertainty, currencies can be even more volatile. With the entire world ramping up efforts to control the Covid-19 pandemic, the toll on people’s lives is tragic and immeasurable, but there is also huge economic uncertainty, having a profound effect on the markets never seen before, causing currency volatility. Market movements Even after [...]
Coronavirus selloff helps CMC Markets double revenue April 3, 2020 Online trading firm CMC Markets said it nearly doubled its annual net trading revenue, bolstered by last month’s coronavirus-induced selloff. In a pre-close trading update, the firm said it expects revenue from its contracts for difference business to be around £241m, up from £110.2m a year earlier. CMC said it had had “strong underlying performance” [...]