Oil prices slide as coronavirus and price war roil markets March 16, 2020 Oil prices slipped below $30 a barrel in afternoon trading as an emergency interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve failed to calm fears about a global recession caused by coronavirus. The Brent crude oil price was last down 11.1 per cent at $30.10, its lowest price since 2016. West Texas Intermediate was down [...]
US stocks plunge again despite Fed coronavirus stimulus March 16, 2020 US stock markets have plunged despite the US Federal Reserve last night again slashing interest rates as investors anticipate a global recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The S&P 500 dropped more than eight per cent when Wall Street opened, causing a so-called circuit breaker designed to stop panic selling to kick in. Stocks continued [...]
EU watchdog tightens short-selling rules as coronavirus sell off worsens March 16, 2020 Hedge funds and other investors will have to give regulators more information about the stocks they are betting against, the European Union’s market watchdog has announced, warning that the stock market rout triggered by coronavirus could last weeks. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) lowered the threshold for reporting short-selling — essentially a bet [...]
Travelex owner Finablr in danger of collapse as shares suspended March 16, 2020 Payments company Finablr has warned it is in danger of collapsing as trading in its shares was frozen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In a dramatic update to the stock exchange this morning, the Travelex owner said it had found around $100m (£81m) of undisclosed financing, which meant it no longer had any certainty [...]
London Stock Exchange gets US approval for Refinitiv deal March 16, 2020 US regulators have approved the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) takeover of financial data firm Refinitiv, the bourse said today. LSE said that the US Committee on Foreign Investment had determined that there were no national security concerns related to the $27bn (£22bn) deal, which was first announced in August last year. The all-share deal would [...]
IMF ready to lend up to $1 trillion in coronavirus response March 16, 2020 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to mobilise its $1 trillion (£813bn) of lending capacity to help member countries deal with the impact of coronavirus, the organisation’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva has said. Georgieva also said governments should ramp up spending and increase international coordination to stop the virus from wreaking long-term economic damage. [...]
FTSE 100 plunges despite Fed’s coronavirus ‘bazooka’ March 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 has plunged despite the US Federal Reserve slashing interest rates to near zero in an emergency move to curb the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The blue-chip index was last down seven per cent as traders reckoned with the ongoing spread of coronavirus and shrugged off the Fed’s surprise intervention. Airlines and [...]
Andrew Bailey: Bank of England will take ‘prompt action’ over coronavirus if needed March 16, 2020 New Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has pledged to take more “prompt action” when needed to tackle the economic fallout from coronavirus, raising the prospect of another interest rate cut. Speaking for the first time as governor after replacing Mark Carney today, Bailey emphasised in a BBC interview the “strong coordination among central bank” [...]
Sign of the times: Tinned gin in and fruit pies out of UK inflation basket March 16, 2020 Self-tanning products, gin in a tin, reusable mugs and gluten-free cereals have been added to the basket of goods used to calculate inflation as Brits go eco-friendly and health-conscious. Meanwhile, frozen imported legs of lamb, fruit pies and frozen chicken breasts have been chucked in the bin to better reflect consumers’ changing tastes. The Office [...]
EU rejects UK’s call for quick agreement on financial services equivalence March 16, 2020 The EU’s head of financial regulation has rejected the UK’s calls for the City’s future access to the bloc’s markets to be settled by the end of June, warning that Brussels’ decision will be based on the extent Britain wants to deviate from EU rules. UK chancellor Rishi Sunak last month called on the EU [...]