Government bond yields sink to record low on coronavirus disruption March 6, 2020 Government bond yields sunk to fresh historic lows as fears over the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on global growth sent investors rushing to safe haven assets. Concerns over the outbreak have sent equities tumbling across the globe and pushed the price of several government bonds to historic highs, while yields (which move inversely to [...]
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon undergoes emergency heart surgery March 6, 2020 JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon is recovering from emergency heart surgery, the bank said. The 63-year-old experienced a tear in his heart’s main artery which was caught early and treated successfully, JP Morgan said in a publicly-released internal memo. Dimon is “awake, alert, and recovering well” after the surgery yesterday morning, the memo [...]
Goldman Sachs and UBS expect Bank of England rate cut March 5, 2020 Investment banking giants Goldman Sachs and UBS are both predicting that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Goldman analysts expect the BoE will slash rates by 50 basis points (0.5 per cent) at its meeting next month, saying that the epidemic is likely to push the UK [...]
HSBC evacuates over 100 from Canary Wharf HQ after employee contracts coronavirus March 5, 2020 HSBC has evacuated more than 100 staff from one floor of its Canary Wharf headquarters after one of its research analysts contracted coronavirus. City A.M. understands that an analyst in the bank’s research department tested positive for Covid-19 late last night, and informed the bank of his diagnosis this morning. Read more: City of London [...]
Coronavirus: FTSE 100 falls lower amid investor concerns about global growth March 5, 2020 The FTSE 100 tumbled after the open as investor sentiment was dampened by concerns over global economic growth being hampered by the coronavirus epidemic. Britain’s blue-chip index opened slightly up, but soon reversed gains and fell as much as 1.31 per cent in morning trading. The FTSE 250 slipped as much as 1.10 per cent. [...]
Credit Suisse chair ‘sought to extend’ tenure despite pledge to step down March 5, 2020 Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner has reportedly sounded out shareholders about extending his tenure multiple times in recent months, despite repeatedly pledging to step down in 2021. Rohner, who has held the role since 2011, recently ousted Tidjane Thiam as chief executive of the Swiss lender in a bitter board battle after Credit Suisse became [...]
IMF provides $50bn for countries hit by coronavirus outbreak March 5, 2020 The International Monetary Fund has announced $50bn (£39bn) of emergency funding for countries hit by the coronavirus epidemic. The IMF warned last night that the Covid-19 outbreak, which has reached 70 of the organisation’s 189 member countries, has already pushed global growth for 2020 below last year’s level. “Global growth in 2020 will dip below [...]
FTSE 100 rises as investors weigh coronavirus stimulus measures March 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose for a third consecutive day this morning, as traders in London weighed up the economic impact of coronavirus and digested news of yesterday’s emergency rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The blue-chip index got off to a jittery start, opening slightly higher before dropping into the red, but then recovered [...]
Eurozone PMI: Growth hits six-month high but coronavirus casts a shadow March 4, 2020 Growth in the Eurozone’s private sector hit a six-month high in February, but the possibility of further disruption from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak loomed. IHS Markit’s composite Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February came in at 51.6, unchanged from an earlier flash reading. Any figure above 50 signals growth, while one under 50 indicates [...]
Federal Reserve slashes interest rates over coronavirus fears March 3, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates by 50 basis points – 0.5 percentage points – in an emergency response to the economic risks of coronavirus. Fed chair Jay Powell said rate-setters had witnessed the “broader spread of the virus” and “come to the view that it is time for us to act in [...]