German finance minister: €500bn Recovery fund will help Europe exit crisis May 19, 2020 Germany’s finance minister has said the proposed €500bn (£450bn) European recovery fund will help EU member states “grow out of the crisis together”. Olaf Scholz’s statement came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime Minister Emannuel Macron yesterday jointly suggested a €500bn fund in what was seen as a potential breakthrough for the bloc. [...]
Bank of England to name recipients of coronavirus loans May 19, 2020 The Bank of England has said it will start naming the companies that use its coronavirus lending facility in a bid to increase transparency about which firms are being bailed out. Firms using the Bank’s covid corporate financing facility (CCFF) will also be expected to start “showing restraint” on dividend payments, share buy-backs and senior [...]
UK jobless claims soar by a record 856,000 to 2.1m in April May 19, 2020 UK jobless claims soared 69.1 per cent – or by 856,000 – to 2.1m in April, unemployment data showed today to illustrate the staggering impact of coronavirus on the economy. And the UK unemployment number increased by 50,000 to 1.35m as lockdown started in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS [...]
Oil prices soar as world begins to emerge from lockdown May 18, 2020 Oil prices continued their upwards trajectory this afternoon, dispelling fears of a repeat of last month’s price implosion as the countries around the world continued to move out of lockdown restrictions. Worldwide standard Brent crude broke through the $35 mark, rising nine per cent to stand at its highest levels since March. West Texas Intermediate, [...]
FTSE 100 breaks 6,000 barrier as vaccine hopes and Fed pledge boost markets May 18, 2020 The FTSE 100 broke through the 6,000-point milestone in a positive start to the week’s trading today, buoyed by hopes of a vaccine and more Federal Reserve stimulus. Easing lockdowns and lower infection rates in Europe infection hotspots Italy, the UK and Spain also boosted London’s blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 closed 4.5 per cent [...]
Gupta snaps up industry veteran to lead steelmaking division May 18, 2020 Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel Group has announced the appointment of industry heavyweight Paramjit Kahlon to run its primary steel and integrated mining division. Kahlon, who spent over a decade at steel giant Arcelor Mittal, will oversee the company’s operations in the Czech Republic, Romania and Australia. In the short term, his focus will be on [...]
Slumping economy, surging stock market– what’s going on? May 18, 2020 | City Talk While tens of millions of Americans were losing their jobs, the stock market in April produced its best monthly return in over 30 years. We look at what’s behind this apparent disconnect. 36 million Americans filed for unemployment claims over the past eight weeks. US GDP plunged by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter [...]
Traders bet on Bank of England launching negative interest rates May 18, 2020 Traders are betting that the Bank of England introduces negative interest rates for the first time ever, pushing the pound to a three-week low today. Interest rate futures contracts from December dipped into negative territory today as the money markets speculated that British interest rates would fall below zero in the coming months. Comments by [...]
UK households gloomy about finances as coronavirus crisis hits home May 18, 2020 UK households were slightly more positive about their finances in May than in April, but the month still ranked as one of the most pessimistic since 2009. IHS Markit’s UK household finance index (HFI) – which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing – recorded 37.8 in May, up slightly from April’s eight-and-a-half year low [...]
Oil prices surge past $30 for first time in two months May 18, 2020 Global oil prices jumped this morning on growing optimism as governments around the world continued to ease lockdown measures. Worldwide standard Brent crude rose 5.2 per cent to hit $34.20, its highest levels in a month. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also surged 6.9 per cent to $31.47, levels which it has not seen since [...]