We must be ready for further stimulus, says Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey June 12, 2020 The Bank of England and other policymakers must be ready to take further action to help the UK’s economy because of the risk of the coronavirus shutdown causing long-term damage, governor Andrew Bailey has said. “We are still very much in the midst of this,” Bailey told broadcasters today. His comments come after new data [...]
Sterling sheds gains against dollar as Brexit fears weigh June 12, 2020 The pound shed early gains against the dollar this afternoon as concerns over Brexit coupled with dire UK economic data weighed on sterling. Sterling has been edging lower this week after rising 3.9 per cent against the dollar in last week’s rally. Having recovered briefly this morning to touch $1.2653, the pound soon flattened back [...]
Covid-19 recession will be ‘different’ to others, says BoE’s Andrew Bailey June 10, 2020 The recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic will be “different” to others, but some early signs of recovery are already apparent, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said. Speaking at a panel discussion today, Bailey said he could already see some signs of economic recovery as lockdown restrictions are lifted in the UK, but warned [...]
ECB may expand bond buying in future but no need yet, says board member June 10, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) may expand its crisis-fighting toolkit in the future but is not planning to do so imminently, a board member said, playing down the possibility of the central bank buying bonds issued by banks or by junk-rated companies. The ECB last week boosted its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to €1.35 trillion [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 rebound sours as traders await Fed rates decision June 10, 2020 The FTSE 100 faltered as an initial rebound quickly turned sour and the UK index fell back into the red by the afternoon. London’s blue-chip index pushed 0.74 per cent higher as markets opened today, before dipping into the red by mid-morning. The FTSE pared back some of the losses by the afternoon but edged [...]
OECD: UK economy to take world’s biggest hit from Covid-19 June 10, 2020 The UK will suffer the largest economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic among major nations this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned. Predicting that the UK economy could contract between 11.5 and 14 per cent in 2020, the organisation said Covid-19 represents the biggest peacetime economic downturn in a century [...]
US inflation falls for third straight month as coronavirus hammers economy June 10, 2020 US consumer prices fell for a third straight month in May and underlying inflation was weak as demand remained subdued amid the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1 per cent in May, after decreasing 0.8 per cent in April, new figures from the US Labour Department showed. Read [...]
FOMC decision: Four things to expect from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting June 10, 2020 Policymakers at the US Federal Reserve are set to publish their first set of economic projections of 2020 later today when the Open Market Committee (FOMC) makes its June decision. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates near zero at its FOMC June decision. But all eyes are on the meeting for [...]
British Business Bank appoints new interim chief executive June 10, 2020 The British Business Bank has announced the appointment of Catherine Lewis La Torre as its interim chief executive. Lewis La Torre will take over from current boss Keith Morgan on 1 September, the lender said. She is currently chief executive of the bank’s two commercial subsidiaries, British Patient Capital and British Business Investments, which she [...]
Mike Pompeo slams HSBC for ‘corporate kowtow’ to China June 10, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has criticised HSBC for backing China’s moves to limit Hong Kong’s autonomy, accusing the British bank of a “corporate kowtow” to Beijing. Pompeo said the US stood ready to help Britain with alternatives after Beijing reportedly threatened to punish HSBC and break commitments to build nuclear power plants in [...]
