Fresnillo shares slide on plunging profit March 3, 2020 Shares in miner Fresnillo fell this morning after it announced a plunge in pre-tax profit of 63 per cent. The company cut its production forecast four times last year, as it grappled with lower quality ore and construction delays at its Herradura mine in Mexico. Pre-tax profit fell 63 per cent to £178m and revenue [...]
It may be a while before the fog lifts on Italy March 3, 2020 The Italian economy was already looking rather parlous at the start of this year, with global bodies like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and European Commission all predicting almost negligible growth rates. Even the January forecast from Italy’s official statistics agency suggested that GDP would increase by just 0.2 per cent over the course [...]
We are blind to the soft-left bias across British institutions March 3, 2020 A few weeks ago, I went to an art exhibition at Somerset House called 24/7. Billed as “a wake-up call for our non-stop world”, it promised to explore the many ways in which technology is speeding up our lives. This was, admittedly, something of a busman’s holiday. Back in 2016, I wrote a book called [...]
Coronavirus: Stocks rise as traders expect US Federal Reserve rate cut March 2, 2020 Global stock markets have risen on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will slash interest rates to support the economy and boost confidence amid the coronavirus outbreak. A volatile morning saw Wall Street open higher before slipping into the red and then rebounding. The US’s S&P 500 stood 2.2 per cent higher two hours into [...]
Coronavirus live: OECD warning weighs down FTSE 100 recovery March 2, 2020 The OECD’s warning that the coronavirus outbreak could halve global growth in 2020 weighed down the FTSE 100 today, sending it back into the red before recovering marginally. Traders had initially sent London’s blue-chip index up 2.7 per cent this morning on the back of central banks saying they were ready to intervene to protest [...]
US manufacturing sector slows as coronavirus looms March 2, 2020 The US manufacturing sector slowed in February, a survey has shown, as new orders fell and coronavirus hung over factories. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s index of factory activity fell to 50.1 last month from 50.9 in January. The reading was below expectations and only just above the 50 figure that denotes expansion. “Demand [...]
FTSE 100 reshuffle: The five stocks at risk of falling out of London’s blue-chip list March 2, 2020 Supermarket chain Morrisons, B&Q owner Kingfisher and travel agent Tui are among the companies at risk as the FTSE braces for a reshuffle this week. The next quarterly shake-up is due to be announced on Wednesday, based on closing prices tomorrow. NMC Health, which is facing a probe into its finances by the City watchdog [...]
OECD: Coronavirus could halve global growth March 2, 2020 Coronavirus is the “gravest threat” to the global economy since the 2008 financial crisis, the OECD warned today as it made swingeing cuts to a number of countries’ growth forecasts. The world economy is expected to grow just 2.4 per cent this year, the lowest since 2009, the OECD said in an interim growth report. [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit highest in four years March 2, 2020 UK banks approved the highest number of mortgages for four years in January, official statistics have shown, in a sign the housing market is recovering after a rocky 2019. Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose to 70,900 in January, up 4.4 per cent from December’s 67,930 figure, the Bank of England said today. The jump [...]
Coronavirus threat plagues Eurozone factory output March 2, 2020 Italy’s factory output slumped for the 17th month in a row in February, it emerged today, as economists warned the coronavirus outbreak could deepen the Eurozone’s manufacturing downturn. The embattled economy’s manufacturing industry activity fell from 48.9 in January to 48.7, according to IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Anything below 50 represents a contraction. [...]