Kingfisher profit jumps as online sales rise during lockdown September 22, 2020 B&Q-owner Kingfisher increased its pre-tax profit by 62.4 per cent in the first half of the year as a strong second quarter and online sales growth boosted the retail group. The FTSE 100 firm also said it had seen “an encouraging start to the second half of the year”. It said like-for-like sales were up [...]
UK manufacturing orders stall for first time since April September 22, 2020 The UK’s manufacturing firms saw orders stagnate in September for the first time since April as companies faced “headwinds from a resurgence of the virus”, a new survey has shown. However, manufacturing output volumes fell at a slower pace than in August, the latest CBI industrial trends survey said. Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, [...]
Bank and government support to UK firms tops £100bn September 22, 2020 Struggling UK companies have now received more than £100bn worth of support from banks and the government through various coronavirus stimulus schemes, official figures have shown. UK banks have lent out more than £58bn to hard-hit companies through the government-backed coronavirus loan schemes, according to Treasury figures out today. HMRC figures showed that companies have [...]
Bank of England to do ‘everything it can’ during Covid surge September 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE “is going to do everything we can” to help the UK economy as it faces the prospect of a second lockdown. Speaking at a British Chambers of Commerce webinar, Bailey said the recent rise in coronavirus cases and new government restrictions were “extremely difficult news [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks plunge amid coronavirus lockdown fears September 21, 2020 A horrible start to the week saw the FTSE 100 suffer its worst day since June as worries over rising coronavirus cases combined with a financial scandal to cause chaos in the City. London’s blue-chip index plunged 3.5 per cent to 5,800 points just before the close, having started the day above 6,000. The FTSE [...]
EU gives banks until 2022 to cut ‘excessive’ use of London clearing September 21, 2020 The European Union’s banks have until mid-2022 to reduce their “excessive exposures” to London’s derivatives clearing houses, the European Commission has said. The bloc’s new finance chief Valdis Dombrovskis said he had approved a proposal to let EU banks and market participants access Britain’s clearing systems for 18 months after the Brexit transition finishes at [...]
HSBC shares hit lowest level since 1990s amid FinCEN scandal September 21, 2020 HSBC’s rotten run has continued, with its UK share price falling to its lowest level since the 1990s amid allegations of money laundering. Banks have already been squeezed hard by the pandemic: interest rates have been slashed and business loans look shaky. HSBC has also been embroiled in a geopolitical dispute between the US and [...]
Government to extend coronavirus loan schemes as cases jump September 21, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend the government’s coronavirus loans schemes in an effort to protect the UK economy during a possible second wave of Covid infections. The four business loans schemes will be extended for applications until the end of November, the Financial Times reported. Banks will be allowed to process the loans [...]
Bank of England reaction: Will interest rates go negative? September 18, 2020 The Bank of England (BoE) held monetary policy steady yesterday for the second meeting in a row. Interest rates were left at 0.1 per cent and bond-buying at £745bn in a business-as-usual decision. All nine members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) voted in favour of continuing this monetary policy. But analysts, investors and traders [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slip amid rising coronavirus cases September 18, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks slipped as investors weighed up rising coronavirus cases and the latest decisions by the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve. London’s main stock index fell 0.5 per cent to 6,017 points at 3pm. Mid-cap firms were hit harder, with the FTSE 250 dropping one per cent. Read more: [...]
