HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs as bank resumes redundancy plan June 17, 2020 HSBC is resuming a massive redundancy plan that had been put on pause after the outbreak of coronavirus, with 35,000 jobs set to be cut. The job cuts will be made over the medium term, while the lender will also freeze almost all external recruitment, said chief executive Noel Quinn in a memo sent to [...]
UK inflation sinks to four-year low as coronavirus puts pressure on prices June 17, 2020 UK inflation fell to a four-year low in May, driven by falling fuel costs and cuts to clothing prices as coronavirus sucked demand from the global economy. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 0.5 per cent last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, falling from 0.8 per cent in April. Read more: [...]
Fed chair Powell: US economic recovery hinges on coronavirus being under control June 16, 2020 The US economy will not fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic until the American people are sure that the outbreak has been brought under control, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said. “Until the public is confident that the disease is contained, a full recovery is unlikely,” Powell told US lawmakers. In the first of two [...]
Bank of Japan boosts coronavirus lending beyond $1 trillion June 16, 2020 Japan’s central bank has increased its coronavirus lending programmes to over $1 trillion (£792bn) but kept monetary policy on hold, with governor Haruhiko Kuroda signalling that it is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus infections. Kuroda said it was impossible to rule out a second wave, signalling the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) willingness to [...]
US retail sales post record resurgence in May June 16, 2020 US retail sales recorded a record jump in May, rising far above expectations as Americans began to return to work and resume spending after weeks of lockdown. US retail sales rose 17.7 per cent in May, data from the US Commerce Department showed, reinforcing views that the worst of the economic slump triggered by the [...]
Activist investor Cerberus vows to continue push for change at Commerzbank June 16, 2020 Activist investor Cerberus has said it will use “alternative paths” to push for change at Commerzbank if the lender continues to resist calls to reform. Cerberus did not outline what paths it might take in a letter sent to the chair of Commerzbank’s supervisory board dated yesterday and seen by Reuters. One possibility is for [...]
UK unemployment: 612,000 workers lose jobs as vacancies crash to record low in lockdown June 16, 2020 The UK unemployment rate unexpectedly remained unchanged in the three months to April, but workers on company payrolls fell 612,000 between March and May while job vacancies plunged to a record low. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9 per cent between February and April, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. [...]
City watchdog tells UK banks to prepare for coronavirus debt pile June 16, 2020 British banks must accelerate preparations for dealing with businesses unable to repay funds borrowed to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic, the financial regulator warned. Over 860,000 UK businesses have taken out state-backed loans worth over £38bn under three emergency credit programmes introduced by the government as lockdowns forced companies to shutter temporarily. Financial Conduct [...]
Workers on furlough pass 9m as cost of job support measures nears £30bn June 16, 2020 Over 9m workers in the UK have now been furloughed due to the Covid-19 pandemic at a cost of £20.8bn, new figures from the Treasury show. As of 14 June, 9.1m jobs were being supported by the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) at a cost of £20.8bn, up from £19.6bn the week before. The [...]
UK unemployment data: Five key facts as furlough stems job losses June 16, 2020 New figures released today showed that the UK’s unemployment rate unexpectedly remained flat for the three months to April, confounding expectations of a sharp rise. But economists are warning that a bleak picture lurks behind that headline figure as the impact of coronavirus on the British labour market begins to show. City A.M. has broken [...]
