Andrew Bailey says he is ‘proud’ of record as FCA chief March 4, 2020 The incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has defended his record as head of the City watchdog, saying he is “proud of what we’ve achieved” but “not proud of some things that happened”. Critics say Bailey did not deal adequately with a number of financial scandals that occurred on his watch as chief executive [...]
FCA admits seven funds breached ‘trash ratio’ March 4, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed the extent to which UK fund managers breached European rules designed to limit liquidity issues behind high-profile scandals. Regulators across Europe have scrutinised how closely fund managers adhere to Ucits fund rules that limit holdings in unquoted securities to 10 per cent of their portfolio. Responding to a [...]
Property fund outflows slow as investors seek safe havens March 4, 2020 Property funds had their best performance since September 2018 as net outflows decreased to just £18m last month, down from £80m in January. In the final week of February, when global markets slumped as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, investors bought a net £24.6m of real estate funds according to Calastone’s Fund Flows Index. [...]
Opec mulls further cuts of up to 1m barrels as coronavirus weighs on oil prices March 4, 2020 Oil prices tiptoed up today as oil producer group Opec was considering additional cuts of up to 1m barrels in an attempt to stabilise prices, which have taken a battering from the coronavirus outbreak. If cuts of this size are enacted, it will take total output curbs of over 3.1m barrels per day, equivalent to [...]
China and Hong Kong’s private sectors hit record low amid coronavirus March 4, 2020 China’s services sector suffered its worst month on record in February as efforts to contain coronavirus tanked the world’s second-biggest economy, survey data showed overnight. Separate data showed that Hong Kong’s entire private sector suffered its worst contraction on record in February, as China’s economic woes spread over the border. The Chinese Caixin/Markit services purchasing [...]
Coronavirus crash prompts record flood of fund outflows March 4, 2020 The market slump caused by increased fears over the coronavirus prompted a flood of outflows from equity funds last month. Investors had bought equity funds enthusiastically in the first three weeks of February, shrugging off concerns at the end of January. UK equity funds saw solid inflows of £1.2bn in the first three weeks. However [...]
UK bond yields hit all-time low on coronavirus fears March 4, 2020 UK government bond yields have fallen to an all-time low after the economic threat of coronavirus led the US Federal Reserve to slash interest rates, a move traders increasingly think the Bank of England will copy. The yield on the 10-year UK Gilt touched 0.335 per cent this morning as investors rushed to buy one [...]
FTSE 100 rises as investors weigh coronavirus stimulus measures March 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose for a third consecutive day this morning, as traders in London weighed up the economic impact of coronavirus and digested news of yesterday’s emergency rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The blue-chip index got off to a jittery start, opening slightly higher before dropping into the red, but then recovered [...]
UK services sector growth slowed by coronavirus March 4, 2020 Growth in the UK services sector slowed in February as coronavirus led to cancelled bookings and delayed projects, a survey has shown. Nonetheless, the sector had its second-best month since September 2018 as a rise in consumer confidence after the December General Election and Britain’s exit from the EU led to a rebound in domestic [...]
Eurozone PMI: Growth hits six-month high but coronavirus casts a shadow March 4, 2020 Growth in the Eurozone’s private sector hit a six-month high in February, but the possibility of further disruption from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak loomed. IHS Markit’s composite Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February came in at 51.6, unchanged from an earlier flash reading. Any figure above 50 signals growth, while one under 50 indicates [...]