FTSE 100 climbs after EU strikes huge stimulus deal July 21, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose after European Union leaders struck a deal to create a huge €750bn (£680bn) recovery fund to try to rouse the continent’s economy from the coronavirus crisis. London’s blue-chip index climbed 0.5 per cent to 6,292 points. The slightly smaller FTSE 250 index rose 0.8 per cent. Read more: EU leaders reach [...]
Small companies slam plans for big Making Tax Digital extension July 21, 2020 Small businesses have slammed the government’s planned expansion of the Making Tax Digital programme, saying it means more cost and paperwork for companies at a time when they are under great pressure. The government today said it will extend its tax digitisation programme to 4.7m of the UK’s smallest companies and self-employed workers from April [...]
BHP hits iron ore, coal and copper guidance despite coronavirus July 21, 2020 Mining giant BHP today said that it had hit its guidance for production of iron ore, coal and copper despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis. However, it warned that so-called second waves of the new disease could hit short-term demand for its commodities, prompting it to broaden the range of its output forecasts [...]
Companies borrow £48bn through UK coronavirus loan schemes July 21, 2020 Close to £48bn has now been lent out through the government’s coronavirus loan schemes, with the bounce back loan (BBL) programme offering by far the most support for businesses. It comes as the UK government accelerates plans to reopen the economy. Pubs, restaurants and cafes were opened at the start of this month and gyms, [...]
Government borrowing hits record £128bn in coronavirus quarter July 21, 2020 Government borrowing rocketed to an all-time record £128bn between April and June 2020, official statistics showed today. That was a massive £103.9bn rise compared to the same period in 2019, and more than double the £55.4bn total borrowed in the previous financial year. June borrowing hit £35.5bn for the government, the Office for National Statistics [...]
Lockdown blues: Breakups and divorces support UK house prices July 21, 2020 The property market is currently defying gravity, with asking prices hitting an all-time high in July and spirits buoyant after the chancellor slashed the stamp duty homes tax. But estate agents say a less-publicised factor has been helping the property sector ride out economic turbulence better than most had predicted: A surge in lockdown breakups [...]
Revolut backer Balderton sinks £8m into detergent startup Smol July 21, 2020 Detergent delivery startup Smol has today closed an £8m funding round, led by London venture capital giant Balderton. The funding was supported by Jamjar Investments, the venture capital firm co-founded by the founder of Innocent Drinks. Launched in 2018 by former Unilever employees Paula Quazi and Nick Green, Smol delivers laundry and dishwasher detergent in [...]
Softbank pulls investment from Credit Suisse funds July 20, 2020 Softbank is said to have pulled an investment from Credit Suisse’s supply chain finance funds, after the Swiss bank reviewed the Japanese giant’s role in the funds. The Swiss bank launched the review after reports last month that Softbank had injected $500m into some of Credit Suisse $7.5bn range of funds, which in turn invested [...]
‘A day in the life’ of a Chief Investment Officer- Jeff Dorman- Arca TALKS exclusively to BEQUANT July 20, 2020 | City Talk Jeff Dorman, CFA is a Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Arca–an innovative digital asset investment company that combines traditional finance with blockchain technology to offer SEC-registered, 40-Act and hedge fund investment products to institutional and retail investors. Jeff spoke exclusively to BEQUANT, discussing a day in his life post covid-19, how a typical day at [...]
BoE’s Haldane: V-shaped recovery ‘a description of the past’ July 20, 2020 The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has said discussion by experts of a so-called V-shaped recovery for the UK economy were not meant to be “a prediction of the future”. Haldane told the Treasury Select Committee that the use of phrase V-shaped recovery was “so far, a description of what has happened”. “The [...]