Rishi Sunak tells MPs he wants to raise taxes then cut them before next election January 28, 2021 Rishi Sunak has told a group of Conservative MPs that raising taxes this year will give him scope to cut them in the lead up to the 2024 election. The chancellor told the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers yesterday that he will have to make difficult choices this year to trim the UK’s bulging Budget [...]
UK could avoid double-dip recession after resilient November January 28, 2021 The UK economy looks likely to avoid a double-dip recession thanks to a better-than-predicted performance in November 2020, according to the EY Item Club. The economy contracted just 2.6 per cent in November, despite the impact of a month-long England-wide lockdown and other restrictions across the UK. As a result, it is expected the [...]
FTSE 100 dips as sterling rallies and investors await big tech earnings January 27, 2021 The FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday as sterling rallied amid US stimulus speculation and investors eyed a busy day of tech earnings on Wall Street. London’s blue-chip index is down 2.2 per cent to 6,539 points while the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 was trading flat. Boris Johnson confirmed the third lockdown would continue until 8 [...]
Melvin Capital closes Gamestop short position amid Reddit feud January 27, 2021 The hedge fund targeted by Reddit investors Melvin Capital reportedly closed out its short position in Gamestop on Tuesday. The bricks-and-mortar retailer was targeted by an army of Reddit investors from the forum “Wall Street Bets” which boasts more than 2m subscribers. Manager of the fund Gabe Plotkin told CNBC it had closed out its [...]
Fresnillo forecasts fall in gold production due to landslide January 27, 2021 Precious metals miner Fresnillo today said that gold production would fall over the coming year due to a landslip at one of its mines. The FTSE 100 company said that full year gold output for 2021 was expected to come in at 675 to 725 k/oz. This year the firm reported production of 769 k/oz, [...]
Companies raise record $400bn in first weeks of 2021 January 26, 2021 Companies have raised some $400bn in the first three weeks of 2021, marking the biggest haul of the past two decades for the comparable period. The buying frenzy is around $170bn above the average for this time of year, the Financial Times reported, citing Refinitiv data, and is a result of global government and central [...]
S&P 500 reaches record high while FTSE gains despite dire unemployment figures January 26, 2021 The S&P 500 reached record highs on Tuesday ahead of a packed day of earnings, while the FTSE 100 recovered some of Monday’s losses despite a dire set of unemployment figures. London’s blue-chip index opened flat before rising 0.4 per cent higher to reach 6,666 points by mid-afternoon, while the benchmark S&P inched 0.1 per [...]
Covid’s catapult: four positive trends for women January 26, 2021 | City Talk Women have been making progress for years, but at a glacial pace. Year after year, I see the same bleak numbers: the more or less stagnant percentages of women in senior management, on boards, in finance, in tech, in investing. However, Covid-19 has been a catalyst and change accelerator in many areas, and while its burdens [...]
IMF trims UK GDP forecast, but worldwide and US post-Covid-19 recovery look better January 26, 2021 IMF trims UK GDP, but things look better for worldwide recovery after Covid-19
US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary January 25, 2021 US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary