A Machiavellian mastermind or a naïve kid? The story of the Flash Crash Trader June 5, 2020 On a cold morning in April 2015, half a dozen FBI agents and police officers pulled up outside a modest semi-detached house in Hounslow to arrest a man they considered to be among the most prolific and dangerous market manipulators in the world. Their target, Navinder Singh Sarao, had accumulated $70m buying and selling futures [...]
BoE governor Andrew Bailey: Fiscal stimulus should keep climate change in mind June 5, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said stimulus packages from governments to tackle the coronavirus fallout should improve sustainability so as to help tackle climate change. In an opinion article with former governor Mark Carney and other central bankers, Bailey said countries should “build back better” after coronavirus, with green goals in mind. Yet [...]
Chancellor picks Richard Hughes as next head of budget watchdog OBR June 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has nominated an International Monetary Fund (IMF) adviser and former government as the next head of the UK’s budget watchdog. Richard Hughes, who currently also works as a research associate at the Resolution Foundation think tank, said he was “honoured” to be picked as the next chair of the Office for Budget [...]
German factory orders plunge as global demand dries up June 5, 2020 German factory orders plunged in April at a much faster rate than expected as coronavirus hit the global economy and caused demand to dry up. Factory orders dropped 25.8 per cent in April compared to a month earlier, when they fell by 15 per cent. The figure was far below the 19.7 per cent contraction [...]
A pro-growth vision for the UK economy June 5, 2020 The UK needs a pro-growth economic policy. That is one of the key lessons likely to arise from this crisis. It is also the central message of a new report that I have co-authored for the think tank Policy Exchange. The pro-growth strategy should be based on three arrows: credible fiscal activism, monetary and financial [...]
Asian stocks climb as equities head for weekly gain June 5, 2020 Asian stocks climbed overnight and US and European futures advanced as economic stimulus and the reopening of economies put global equities on track for another week of gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6 per cent. China’s SSE composite index was 0.2 per cent higher. European stocks [...]
Consumer confidence hovers near record low during coronavirus crisis June 5, 2020 Consumer confidence continued to teeter on the brink of hitting record lows during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Consumer confidence dipped two points to minus 36, just three points above the record low of minus 39 reported in July 2018, as house prices fell and unemployment rose. However, GfK’s major purchase index rose six points, showing [...]
Scrap BoE’s two per cent inflation target, says think tank June 4, 2020 The Bank of England’s (BoE) two per cent inflation target should be scrapped and replaced with a four per cent nominal GDP target, a think tank has said. A Policy Exchange paper published tomorrow urges the government to consider temporary tax cuts to boost the economy after the pandemic. Some of the measures proposed include [...]
FTSE 100 slips as investors weigh up US-China tensions June 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 is down after a strong rally as investors take stock of high levels of economic uncertainty and rising US-China tensions. The UK’s blue-chip stock index was down 0.41 per cent at 6,355 points in afternoon trading. It marked a change from the first three days of the week, when it rose to [...]
Airlines, a bakery and a football club claim BoE coronavirus cash June 4, 2020 Famous UK and foreign firms from across the economy have turned to the Bank of England for coronavirus loans, official figures have shown, with companies from John Lewis to football club Tottenham Hotspur selling the bank their bonds. German chemicals company BASF is currently the biggest borrower on the Bank’s covid corporate financing facility (CCFF), [...]