Angela Merkel lowers hopes as talks start over €750bn EU Covid fund July 17, 2020 European Union leaders face “very, very difficult” negotiations over a €750bn coronavirus bailout fund, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned ahead of the start of talks today. EU heads of state today go into the first in-person leaders’ meeting for five-months to try to thrash out a deal over a huge fund that could kickstart [...]
Centrica staff may have to sign new contracts or risk more redundancies July 16, 2020 Workers at British Gas owner Centrica have been told they may have to accept new employment conditions or risk having their jobs cut. It was reported that the services firm has told employees to sign new contracts or risk a second wave of redundancies. Last month Centrica announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs in [...]
US retail sales increase as jobless claims hit 1.3m in June July 16, 2020 US retail sales increased more than expected in June, data showed today, but a sustained high level of jobless claims and fresh infections threatened the budding economic recovery. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales rose 7.5 per cent last month. That was on top of the 18.2 per cent jump in May, which was the biggest gain since [...]
UK unemployment: 650,000 Brits lose jobs in lockdown July 16, 2020 Around 650,000 people lost their jobs between March and June, official figures showed today, as the UK labour market “weakened markedly” during lockdown. Job losses led to a 0.3 per cent drop in total pay in May compared to a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That is a 1.3 per cent [...]
Anglo American sticks to guidance as output falls a fifth July 16, 2020 Mining giant Anglo American announced that total production in the second quarter had fallen 18 per cent as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the drop, the firm said that it would maintain its full year guidance for all of its commodities except for coal. In a statement, the FTSE 100 firm said that [...]
SSE sticks to low-carbon plan despite £250m coronavirus hit July 16, 2020 Energy firm SSE today said that it expected to take a £150m to £250m profit hit from the coronavirus crisis, which has sent power demand tumbling. Despite the hit, the FTSE 100 firm said it was continuing with its £7.5bn programme of investments in low-carbon energy sources. It added that it would continue to pay [...]
Government must tackle £35bn corporate debt crisis, warn City bosses July 16, 2020 The government must take urgent action to prevent a wave of defaults on £35bn of corporate debt taken on during coronavirus wreaking havoc in the economy, a new report backed by some of the City’s biggest names has said. Policymakers should create a “UK Recovery Corporation” to turn risky debts into more manageable forms like [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks soar as vaccine optimism builds July 15, 2020 The FTSE 100 doubled its gains on Wednesday as investor optimism about a coronavirus vaccine grew stronger, also fuelling US and European stocks. London’s blue-chip index climbed as high as 6,241 as it opened trading this morning, following positive trial results of a Moderna vaccine. By 1.30pm the FTSE 100 was up 2.07 per cent [...]
Opec set to ease production cuts as lockdowns lift July 15, 2020 Oil cartel Opec is set to ease production cuts less than previously expected, it emerged today, in a bid to continue supporting the slowly recovering global economy. Since May, the wider alliance of Opec members and key players such as Russia have been cutting oil output by 9.7m barrels per day, nearly a tenth of [...]
Knowing V, Knowing U: The shape of the recession July 15, 2020 On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics released data on UK GDP for the month of May. It showed that the economy had recovered by just 1.8 per cent in May, following a sharp contraction of 20.4 per cent in April. Many commentators and economists voiced their disappointment at these figures, and ruled out the [...]