UK economy receives fresh warnings before Rishi Sunak addresses MPs May 18, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to address MPs today following new dire predictions of the impact of coronavirus on the UK economy. Sunak is set to face questions over how the UK will pay for huge public borrowing currently propping up the economy. The Treasury boss extended his job retention scheme to October last week, [...]
Asian shares make cautious gains even as Japan falls into recession May 18, 2020 Asian shares made cautious gains on the back of S&P 500 futures and a rise in oil prices, even as Japan slipped into recession. Japan has fallen into recession as the coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll on the global economy. Japan’s economy shrank 3.4 per cent in the first three months of 2020 [...]
Jay Powell: US economy could shrink 30 per cent over coronavirus May 18, 2020 Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell has warned the US economy could “easily” decline by 20 to 30 per cent over the coronavirus pandemic. The US central bank boss also warned the economic downturn could continue until late 2021, and there may be no recovery until scientists create a vaccine. Powell called on the Trump administration [...]
Global dividends set to plunge as much as 35 per cent this year May 18, 2020 Global dividends could fall as much as 35 per cent this year, as companies scramble to conserve cash amid the pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic and the hit to oil prices has had a profound impact on the cash position of a lot of companies. Businesses in the worst hit areas – such as hospitality, aviation [...]
OBR chief rules out post-crisis ‘v-shaped’ economic recovery for UK May 17, 2020 The head of the government’s independent budget watch dog has said a quick, “v-shaped” economic recovery is very unlikely for the UK as it comes out of the Covid-19 lockdown. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) director Robert Chote said today that people should “expect a slower recovery than the v-shaped” recovery first predicted by [...]
Former LSE boss Rolet joins Shore Capital as non-exec chairman May 17, 2020 The former boss of the London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet has joined brokerage firm Shore Capital as the chairman of its capital markets business. In his decade at the head of London’s bourse, Rolet transformed the LSE into one of the world’s largest indices by market capitalization. When he joined, its valuation stood at £800m, [...]
US retail sales drop at record pace amid coronavirus shutdown May 15, 2020 US retail sales plunged at the quickest pace on record for the second month in a row in April, official figures have shown, as coronavirus containment measures caused shops to close and Americans to stay in their homes. The Commerce Department said sales dropped 16.4 per cent last month compared an 8.3 per cent drop [...]
British Airways, Next and ITV at risk of credit rating downgrades May 15, 2020 Some of the UK’s biggest companies are at risk of having their credit ratings downgraded and becoming “fallen angels”, ratings agency S&P has said, raising the possibility of a sharp rise in borrowing costs in the midst of the worst downturn since the 1930s. Big names such as Next, British Airways and ITV are in [...]
Coronavirus sends Eurozone economy to worst quarter on record May 15, 2020 The Eurozone economy shrank at the fastest pace on record in the first three months of the year, official figures have shown, as coronavirus brought normal life to a halt. Euro area GDP plunged 3.8 per cent quarter on quarter in the first three months of the year, according to EU statistics body Eurostat. That [...]
When will the UK economy recover from coronavirus? May 15, 2020 The UK economy is set for its worst contraction since at least the Great Depression this year as the coronavirus lockdown brings activity to a halt. There’s little doubt about that. There is doubt about what comes next, however. Economists have made huge numbers of predictions, using an array of letters to describe the recovery. [...]