UK businesses borrowed more in one quarter than in whole of 2019 October 6, 2020 British businesses borrowed 50 per cent more in the second quarter of 2020 than in the whole of the previous year as the coronavirus crisis hammered the economy, new figures show. Businesses borrowed a total of £34.5bn in the three months to the end of June, according to a report by banking lobby group UK [...]
FTSE 100 slips after Donald Trump leaves hospital October 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 slipped and European markets struggled for direction as US President Donald Trump returned to the White House after being hospitalised with coronavirus. The blue-chip index started the morning with modest gains, edging 0.1 per cent higher in early trading. Yet it slipped into the red to stand 0.2 per cent lower shortly [...]
Allianz boss warns over ‘zombie companies’ reliant on government support October 6, 2020 The chief executive of Allianz has warned there are a lot of “zombie companies” surviving only because of government support, but said that households were proving more resilient than many thought during the pandemic. “We are camouflaging for now the underlying effects, we have a lot of zombie companies now that are just surviving because [...]
UK PMI: Construction activity rebounded more than expected in September October 6, 2020 The UK’s construction sector unexpectedly picked up speed in September, helped by a post-lockdown bounce in the housing market, according to survey data. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index accelerated to 56.8 from 54.6 in August – well above the 50-point measure that separates expansion from contraction. The reading was above all forecasts [...]
Technical glitch in UK’s coronavirus testing system fixed, minister says October 5, 2020 A technical problem in England’s coronavirus testing data system has now been fixed and should not happen again, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said this morning. The UK reported a record daily jump of 22,961 Covid-19 cases yesterday after authorities said a technical issue had meant that over 15,000 test results had not been [...]
City watchdog secures £1.6m order against money laundering fugitive October 5, 2020 A fugitive businessman convicted of money laundering in one of the UK’s largest ever insider trading case should return £1.6m or have eight years added to his prison sentence, a London court ruled today. Luxury watch dealer Richard Baldwin was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after being convicted of money laundering [...]
US stocks and FTSE 100 jump as markets rebound on signs of Trump’s health improving October 5, 2020 US stocks jumped this afternoon, while the FTSE 100 climbed steadily following reports that President Donald Trump’s health was improving. Wall Street’s Dow Jones and tech-heavy Nasdaq both gained more than one per cent in early trading. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 per cent, following a sharp sell-off last Friday on the President’s announcement that [...]
Legal & General to vote against all-white FTSE 100 boards October 5, 2020 One of Britain’s largest institutional investors, Legal & General, has warned FTSE 100 companies with all-white boards that it will vote against them if they do not hire a Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) director by 2022. L&G issued the ultimatum to the 30-plus blue-chip firms that do not have a director from an [...]
Goldman Sachs backs sterling, saying Brexit deal in November likely October 5, 2020 Goldman Sachs is advising its clients to buy sterling, with analysts predicting that the UK and EU could reach a post-Brexit trade deal by early November. Analysts at the US investment bank said that while the risk of a breakdown in negotiations could not be ruled out, their “core view” was that a “‘thin’ zero-tariff/zero-quota [...]
UK PMIs: Business activity slowed less than thought in September October 5, 2020 Britain’s economy proved more resilient than initially thought last month, with business activity continuing to grow despite the introduction of fresh lockdown restrictions and the end of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, a major survey showed. The IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the services sector dropped to 56.1 in September from [...]
