Markets live: US stocks climb as FTSE 100 passes 6,000 points May 12, 2020 US stocks have followed the FTSE 100 higher as investors are cheered by countries’ moves to ease some coronavirus restrictions. Wall Street’s Dow Jones index climbed 0.3 per cent in morning trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 0.3 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 index closed 1.1 per cent higher, [...]
Job retention scheme: Rishi Sunak extends furlough scheme until October May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme until October and has promised furloughed workers they will not see a further dip in their salary until it ends. Sunak announced today that the scheme will remain the same until the end of July, but from August to October there will be “greater [...]
Bank of England must weigh up negative interest rates, says deputy governor May 12, 2020 Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent has raised the possibility of negative interest rates in the UK, but said the BoE would have to think hard about the challenges they pose. Asked about negative rates on CNBC, Broadbent said it was “a question that’s been thought about on and off since the financial crisis [...]
Former BoE governor says extend furlough scheme indefinitely May 12, 2020 Rishi Sunak should announce an indefinite extension of the coronavirus furlough scheme today with no changes to the level of pay, according to the former Bank of England (BoE) governor. Lord Mervyn King, who was the BoE helmsman during the 2008 financial crisis, said today that the scheme should be in place until “the economy [...]
Covid-19: why the tech giants have emerged as winners May 12, 2020 | City Talk While many businesses struggle to survive under the global lockdown, the largest technology companies remain afloat and in some cases are even thriving. Microsoft has reported a surge in usage of its cloud computing service Azure, as millions of people work from home. Amazon is hiring an additional 75,000 workers, on top of the 100,000 [...]
Extend job retention scheme or risk ‘second wave’ of unemployment, says think tank May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak should extend the job retention scheme until September and longer for some sectors to help stave off a “second surge” in unemployment, a leading think tank has said. The Resolution Foundation said some sectors would need support for longer than others and suggested the scheme should run until the end of the [...]
Saudi Aramco profit falls 25 per cent on oil price implosion May 12, 2020 State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco saw its first quarter profit fall 25 per cent as the coronavirus crisis decimated the price of crude oil. Over the course of the quarter, the price of worldwide standard Brent crude fell roughly two-thirds, sending the firm to a 62.5bn riyals (£13.5bn) profit, down from 83.3bn riyals a year [...]
Airline stocks sink as FTSE 100 falls on fears of second wave May 11, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell back into negative territory this afternoon after early optimism about an easing of the UK lockdown appeared to evaporate. London’s stock market was up 0.85 per cent as it flirted with the 6,000 points marker earlier today. But traders’ enthusiasm quickly dwindled as European stocks also dropped into the red. The [...]
Coronavirus lockdown: Economic activity and optimism plunge to record lows May 11, 2020 Economic activity and optimism levels both plummeted to record lows last month due to the UK’s coronavirus lockdown. Business output across the UK fell by 35.87 points in April to 44.9, significantly below the 79.28 recorded after the global financial crisis, to the lowest level since records began in 2005. Any reading below 95 points [...]
US stocks rise on China trade hopes despite dire jobs report May 8, 2020 US stocks have risen in early trading despite the worst unemployment report in modern history, as investors take cheer in the US and China’s agreement to work together on the smooth implementation of their trade deal. The Dow Jones index was 1.5 per cent higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent while the Nasdaq [...]