Construction sector growth slows as new work dries up September 4, 2020 Growth in UK construction output slowed in August as subdued order books put the brakes on the sector’s coronavirus recovery. The headline IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index registered 54.6 in August, down from 58.1 in July. It marks the third consecutive month of growth in construction output — indicated by any figure higher [...]
Navigating the UK’s economic recovery – a sector analysis September 4, 2020 We are living through extraordinary economic times. There is no hiding from the fact that this is a deep recession, and one that provides ample risk for investors. Recent GDP figures paint a gloomy picture and suggest that it will take some time for the economy to fully heal from Covid-19. The good news is [...]
FTSE 100 rally cools as Wall Street slips from overnight highs September 3, 2020 The FTSE 100’s rally slowed this afternoon, with London’s premier index trading 0.3 per cent up at 5,957.69 points as of the early afternoon. Optimism that the economy could be in line for further stimulus measures kept the market in the black even as Wall Street slipped from last night’s record highs. The FTSE 250 [...]
US jobless claims fall to lowest level since pandemic began September 3, 2020 The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the US fell to its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, new data from the US Labor Department has revealed. Last week, there were 881,000 jobless claims, down 130,000 from the week before. The drop was larger than expected, with a Reuters poll predicting 950,000 [...]
SSE fined £2m by Ofgem over ‘inside information’ failings September 3, 2020 SSE has been fined £2.1m by Ofgem for failing to publish inside information about the wholesale energy market. The FTSE 100 energy firm failed to publish timely information about the future availability of its generation capacity, the regulator said. This was likely to have had a “significant” effect on forward wholesale electricity prices, it added. [...]
CMC Markets continues its strong performance post-lockdown September 3, 2020 Spread betting and trading platform CMC Markets today said its strong performance during lockdown had continued during the summer months. The company said it is confident that its 2021 financial year net operating income will exceed the upper end of current market consensus. The coronavirus selloff in March helped bolster CMC’s income by 93 per [...]
UK is world’s fifth largest exporter of tech services September 3, 2020 The number of tech exports from the UK have surged in the past year, making it one of the world’s largest exporter of technology services. Last year UK exports of technology services grew to £23.3bn, sitting behind just India, the US, China and Germany in the global rankings. Tech Nation’s ‘Unlocking Global Tech’ report published [...]
Bank of England warns of ‘scarring’ to the UK economy September 2, 2020 Bank of England policymakers have stressed that the UK economy faces big risks in the coming months, saying that the “scarring” could be worse than they predicted in August. Speaking to the Treasury Committee of MPs, governor Andrew Bailey said the Bank’s latest forecasts were highly uncertain. He said it was unclear the extent to [...]
FTSE 100 jumps as homebuilders cheer surge in UK house prices September 2, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped as investors welcomed signs of an economic recovery, with homebuilders riding high after UK house prices hit a record level despite the coronavirus pandemic. The UK’s main stock index climbed 1.1 per cent to 5,929 points, having shed almost two per cent yesterday. The FTSE 250 index of smaller firms rose [...]
US private payroll growth falls short in setback for Covid-19 recovery September 2, 2020 US private payrolls increased less than expected in August, marking a major setback in the country’s economy from the coronavirus crisis. Private payrolls rose by just 428,000 jobs last month, according to new figures from the ADP National Employment report. This was well behind the 950,000 increase forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The report, [...]