George Osborne’s former adviser Rupert Harrison: Extra spending in Budget is ‘welcome’ March 10, 2020 Rupert Harrison has spent the last few weeks monitoring obscure economic indicators – everything from pollution in Chinese cities to traffic in Milan – in an effort to guide his clients at investment giant Blackrock through the worst market crisis since 2008. He’s no stranger to financial turbulence, however, having been chained at the hip [...]
City Moves for 10 March — Who’s switching jobs at Vectura, Heylo and Segro? March 10, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Vectura, Heylo and Segro Vectura Drug delivery service Vectura has announced the appointment of Mark Bridgewater as chief commercial officer. Mark has more than 20 years of experience in medical device and pharmaceutical services. Prior to joining Vectura, he was vice president of business development and account management for Europe and [...]
Can the chancellor protect the UK economy from coronavirus? March 10, 2020 You have to feel sympathy for Rishi Sunak. Suddenly appointed as chancellor after the unexpected resignation of Sajid Javid, he found himself with just weeks to put together the first Budget of the Boris Johnson era. Any chance he could simply copy Javid’s homework was then dashed when the former chancellor gave the Times chapter [...]
Lebanon should learn the lessons of the past to protect the future when it comes to its debt problem March 10, 2020 In a solemn press conference over the weekend, the relatively new Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab delivered a speech that will go down in history. Conceding that the country was paying for mistakes made in the past, Diab announced to the world that Lebanon would not be rendering whole the bond payment due on Monday, [...]
DEBATE: Should the chancellor bend the fiscal rules to increase spending in his first Budget? March 10, 2020 Should the chancellor bend the fiscal rules to increase spending in his first Budget? Will Tanner, director of Onward, says YES. It is the prerogative of a twenty-first century chancellor to set the rules of your own tenure. Gordon Brown, George Osborne, Philip Hammond and Sajid Javid (who never delivered a Budget) all established the [...]
Small Budget tweaks could give startups big improvements in access to cash March 10, 2020 Britain’s small business funding picture is mixed. The good news is that, while access to traditional bank loans has been limited since the financial crisis, founders have undoubtedly benefited from the rise of alternative finance. Over £2bn is now lent through peer-to-peer lenders and close to 400 equity crowdfunding deals take place in the UK [...]
Bad weather and coronavirus fears hurt high street sales March 10, 2020 Bad weather and coronavirus fears kept UK shoppers away from the high street last month, while streaming services and takeaway firms benefited from Brits staying at home. Consumer spending was up 2.2 per cent year-on-year last month, driven by digital subscriptions and takeaways as Brits stayed home to avoid storms and coronavirus risks. More than [...]
Qantas to cut international capacity by a quarter as it grapples with coronavirus March 9, 2020 Qantas will slash its international capacity by nearly 25 per cent for the next six months, as it grapples with a steep fall in demand due to coronavirus. Qantas’ chief executive Alan Joyce will not take his salary until the end of the financial year, which ends 30 June. The board will take a 30 [...]
Global stocks plunge amid oil crash and coronavirus outbreak March 9, 2020 Global stock markets plunged today as a crash in oil prices and the rapid spread of coronavirus caused panic to set in on trading floors around the world. The UK’s FTSE 100 slumped 7.7 per cent in its biggest one-day fall since the 2008 financial crisis. The rout wiped £125bn off the value of the [...]
Diversified Gas and Oil rides out market volatility March 9, 2020 Diversified Gas and Oil posted strong results todayto defy difficulties on the world commodity market. The Alabama-based company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $273.3m (£209.8m) for 2019. Final recommended dividend was 3.50 cents per share, an increase of 24 per cent over the same period in 2018. Total revenue almost doubled to $511.7m, up 87 [...]