EU must boost capital markets due to coronavirus and Brexit, say finance chiefs June 10, 2020 The European Union needs to deregulate its capital markets to help the economy recover from coronavirus and reduce its reliance on the City of London, according to a panel of industry executives. With huge amounts of debt being sold to counter the economic hit caused by Covid-19 and the bloc set to lose its major [...]
Coronavirus: UK economy set for ‘most severe downturn in modern times’ June 10, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has dragged the UK into the “most severe economic downturn in modern times” with the economy set to contract over seven per cent this year, new forecasts suggest. The UK economy is expected to shrink 7.2 per cent in 2020 and is unlikely to fully recover from the impact of Covid-19 until [...]
One in seven SME owners using personal savings to keep businesses afloat during pandemic June 10, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic is leading small business owners to take drastic steps to keep their companies afloat, according to a new survey, with one in seven small business owners digging into their own pockets to ensure their business survives. Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK have come under intense pressure during the [...]
FTSE 100 and European stocks drop as Wall Street rally fizzles out June 9, 2020 The FTSE 100 sank into the red on Tuesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to outline further measures to ease the Covid-19 lockdown. The blue-chip index was expected to make gains after the UK reported its lowest tally of coronavirus deaths since lockdown began yesterday, with London reporting no new Covid deaths, but had [...]
Coronavirus business loan borrowing nears £35bn but CBILS approval rate languishes June 9, 2020 British businesses have borrowed almost £35bn under the government’s three emergency coronavirus credit programmes, but the approval rate for coronavirus business interruption loans (CBILS) remains just over 50 per cent. The bounce back loan scheme, which supports small businesses with 100 per cent state-backed loans, continued to see the strongest demand, according to new figures [...]
Number of workers on UK furlough scheme nears 9m June 9, 2020 Almost 9m workers in the UK have been furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic at a cost of £19.6bn, according to new figures from the Treasury. As of 7 June, 8.9m jobs were being supported by the government under its coronavirus job retention scheme, an increase of 200,000 on the week before. Businesses have now [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 falters after last week’s rally as US stocks inch up June 8, 2020 The FTSE 100 faltered today after a strong rally last week, coming down from highs despite more countries moving to ease lockdown measures. The blue chip index dropped as much as 0.75 per cent following the open. The FTSE 100 later pared back losses to close down 0.085 per cent lower at 6,478. Meanwhile, US [...]
BoE: Furlough means UK faces record labour market inactivity June 8, 2020 The UK is facing what appears to be a record level of inactivity in its labour market as huge numbers of people are on furlough or facing unemployment due to Covid-19, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. “We’ve seen activity across the economy collapse, and we’ve seen a rapid rise in inactivity among [...]
Barclays squares up for latest legal battle as £1.5bn Staveley suit hits High Court June 8, 2020 Financier Amanda Staveley’s private equity firm today told the High Court it had received a “substantially worse” deal than Qatar when its syndicate invested billions of pounds in Barclays during the financial crisis in 2008, as it launched a civil case against the bank. PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages of up to £1.5bn for [...]
Eurozone investor morale improves as bloc ‘wakes from deep sleep’ June 8, 2020 Investor sentiment in the eurozone has risen this month and an assessment of investor expectations hit its highest level since November 2017, according to a new survey. Sentix’s index for the euro zone rose to -24.8 from -41.8 in May, compared with the Reuters consensus forecast for a reading of -22.5. The research firm’s current [...]
