FTSE 100 and US stocks rise as countries ease coronavirus lockdowns May 5, 2020 US stocks have followed the FTSE 100 higher on the back of an oil price rally and hopes that economies could start to heal as countries and states lift coronavirus restrictions. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was 1.8 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 5,856 points. It had fallen 0.2 per cent yesterday. The mid-cap [...]
Germany’s top court tells ECB to justify bond-buying programme May 5, 2020 Germany’s highest court has said the European Central Bank can continue buying bonds but must prove that purchases under its crisis-era programme are necessary within three months or Germany’s central bank must stop participating in the scheme. However, the judges’ decision does not impinge on the ECB’s coronavirus bond-buying scheme, under which it has pledged [...]
Coronavirus drives UK private sector to worst month on record May 5, 2020 The UK private sector suffered its worst month on record in April, survey data has confirmed, as coronavirus lockdown measures caused demand to evaporate. The IHS Markit/Cips composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a closely watched gauge of the health of the economy, slumped to 13.8 in April from 36 in March, which was the previous [...]
How have sustainable companies performed during the Covid-19 crisis? May 5, 2020 | City Talk Rather than being a luxury or an optional extra, our analysis shows that a focus on sustainability would have helped relative performance during the recent market turbulence. Here at Schroders, our view of sustainable investing is that companies who treat their stakeholders fairly will see better share price performance than those who do not. There [...]
Real Estate: COVID-19 may permanently quarantine inflexible leases May 5, 2020 | City Talk Real estate leases have long represented a point of disagreement between accountants and financial analysts. This disagreement was the primary reason why the London-headquartered International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) went separate ways in finalising lease accounting standards. Figure 1. Lease Accounting Survey Report (October 2013) For a [...]
Oil prices rise on storage hopes as Asian stocks recover May 5, 2020 Oil prices extended their gains this morning on hopes fuel demand would begin to pick up as an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures also pushed up Asian stocks. Brent crude rose 4.3 per cent to $28.37 a barrel, while US crude was up 1.38 per cent to $21.77 a barrel as crude supply cuts took [...]
Michael Spencer: Government must find way to ease ‘agonising’ UK lockdown May 5, 2020 Billionaire financier Michael Spencer has urged the government to “be brave” in its approach to easing the UK lockdown, warning the “agonising” effects of the economic shutdown risk causing lasting damage to British businesses. Spencer said that the longer the economy is “left in its paralysed state the greater the damage that accumulates”. He added: [...]
The City View podcast, from City A.M., with Michael Spencer May 4, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by billionaire financier and City grandee Michael Spencer. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Spencer urges the government to “be brave” in easing the UK out of lockdown – a state of affairs he described as “agonising”. He warns of lasting damage [...]
Private equity funds set to target Aim-listed firms May 4, 2020 Private equity funds are expected to target Aim-listed companies once lockdown has eased and dealmaking is resumed. The number of private equity-backed deals for Aim companies trebled in the past 12 months. PE funds bought and took 12 companies private in 2019/20, compared to just four deals in the previous year ended 31 March. Aim [...]
US factory orders plunged 10.3 per cent in March May 4, 2020 Orders for US-made goods plunged 10.3 per cent in March, and could fall further as coronavirus shutters the economy. The US Department of Commerce said factory orders declined 10.3 per cent, as coronavirus lockdown measures began to shut down the economy. The steeper than expected fall in orders came as orders for both durable and [...]