FTSE 100 rises but US markets fall as jobless claims grow July 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 clung on to its gains but US markets fell as investors weighed rising American joblessness against the prospect of more economic stimulus. London’s main stock index was 0.2 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 6.218 points. The FTSE 250 was up 0.1 per cent. Read more: Unilever beats sales forecasts as [...]
US jobless claims rise for first time in four months as coronavirus spreads July 23, 2020 The number of Americans making new jobless claims climbed last week for the first time since the economy began to crash at the end of March, in a sign the US’s recovery is cooling off. Slightly more than 1.4m Americans made a new jobless claim last week, up 109,000 from the week before. It was [...]
Fear of coronavirus likely to ‘drag’ on UK economy, says BoE official July 23, 2020 People’s fear of catching coronavirus is likely to stop them from going out to spend normally and “drag on the economy,” a Bank of England policymaker has said. Jonathan Haskel, a member of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), said the “path of recovery” therefore depends on public and private health measures bringing coronavirus under [...]
Record UK manufacturing slump continues but optimism grows July 23, 2020 The decline in UK manufacturing orders eased somewhat in July but the sector remained mired in its deepest downturn on record, according to a closely watched survey. The CBI industrial trends survey’s gauge of total orders rose to minus 46 in July from minus 58 in June. That was its highest reading since March but [...]
Watchdog slams government for lack of pandemic economic plan July 23, 2020 Parliament’s financial watchdog has slammed the government for its failure to plan for the economic consequences of a pandemic, saying it was “astonished” that the UK was not better prepared. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Treasury waited until mid-March to design schemes to support the economy. That was despite it [...]
Exclusive: MPs ask banks for clarity on state aid rules and coronavirus loans July 22, 2020 A group of MPs and Lords has written to lenders to try to ensure they take into account changes to EU state aid rules that could boost the UK’s coronavirus loan scheme, amid confusion about the alterations. It came as business group UK Hospitality urged the government to take the lead and make sure the [...]
FTSE 100 slips as doubts set in about new US stimulus July 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 continued to trade in the red on Wednesday afternoon as US coronavirus cases continued to rise and investors doubted Congress would pass another stimulus bill within two weeks. London’s blue-chip index shed 0.59 per cent by 3pm to 6,232 points. The FTSE 250 edged up 0.15 per cent however. It came after [...]
‘Euphoria’: Silver price surges and gold nears all-time high July 22, 2020 Silver hit its highest price in seven years and gold surged close to an all-time record as investors bought up the commodities in anticipation of yet more economic stimulus from the world’s biggest economies. Silver rose as much as seven per cent to around $22.80 per ounce in morning trading. However, it then slipped back [...]
Grant Shapps says there is ‘no evidence’ of Russian Brexit interference July 22, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said there is no evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote and therefore the UK secret services did not need to investigate the allegations. Shapps’s statement came the day after lawmakers finally released the delayed Russia report. It said the government failed to investigate possible Russian interference in [...]
Rishi Sunak launches spending review and warns of ‘tough choices’ July 21, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that “tough choices” will have to be made over government spending from 2021 onwards as he launched a comprehensive review of public sector budgets. The spending review comes as Sunak revises the overall spending plans made in the March Budget to reflect the huge impact coronavirus has had on the [...]
