UK productivity shows weak growth before coronavirus hit April 7, 2020 UK productivity grew by 0.3 per cent year on year in the final quarter of 2019, official statistics have shown, marking relatively weak growth before coronavirus hit the economy. The figure was unchanged from the previous quarter but was an improvement from the previous four quarters of zero growth or contraction, the Office for National [...]
Michael Gove says Boris Johnson is ‘not on a ventilator’ in intensive care April 7, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not been put on a ventilator but has received oxygen support as he remains in intensive care with coronavirus, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said. Johnson was placed in intensive care at around 7pm last night after his condition worsened. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will be in charge while [...]
UK sticks to December 2020 Brexit deadline despite coronavirus April 6, 2020 The UK government has said it remains “absolutely committed” to Brexit negotiations and the December 2020 transition date despite the coronavirus outbreak limiting talks between the two sides. The UK and EU have until the end of this year to thrash out a comprehensive free-trade agreement. Keen to deliver on his “get Brexit done” election [...]
US stocks jump as investors cheer apparent coronavirus slowdown April 6, 2020 US stocks have surged in early trading as investors are encouraged by an apparent slowdown in the spread of coronavirus. The S&P 500 jumped 4.9 per cent while the Dow Jones was up 5.2 per cent. The Nasdaq climbed 4.8 per cent. Stocks were higher in Europe too. The UK’s FTSE 100 was up 2.8 [...]
JP Morgan mulls historic dividend suspension amid ‘bad’ coronavirus recession April 6, 2020 JP Morgan Chase’s boss Jamie Dimon has said the Wall Street giant could suspend its dividend for the first time in history and that he foresees a “bad recession” for the US economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Dimon also warned shareholders in his annual letter that the bank’s profit will be down “meaningfully in 2020”. [...]
Oil prices slip as investors doubt Saudi-Russia agreement April 6, 2020 Oil prices have fallen despite the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund saying Russia and Saudi Arabia are “very, very close” to a deal on supply cuts. Brent crude was down 2.5 per cent at $33.30 in a sign that investors are sceptical an agreement will be reached. US West Texas Intermediate was two per [...]
UK construction sector has worst month since 2009 amid coronavirus lockdown April 6, 2020 UK construction sector output plunged at the fastest rate since the financial crisis in March as coronavirus containment measures shut down sites and caused new orders to slump, survey data has shown. The IHS Markit/Cips construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) tumbled to 39.3 in March from 52.6 in February. This was the lowest since April [...]
UK’s smaller firms cannot pay debts amid coronavirus, say accountants April 6, 2020 The UK’s small and medium-sized businesses do not have enough cash to pay debts due in the next year, research has shown, as fears rise over the resilience of British firms in the face of the coronavirus slowdown. Coronavirus containment measures have pushed businesses to close and caused a slump in demand. This has caused [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey rejects direct government financing amid coronavirus April 5, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has defended the institution’s drastic response to the coronavirus slowdown, saying it is not directly financing government spending and is against such an idea. Threadneedle Street has ramped up quantitative easing (QE), under which it creates money and buy bonds to stimulate lending, to tackle the fallout from coronavirus. [...]
Cebr: UK output has plunged 30 per cent amid coronavirus April 5, 2020 UK economic output has fallen by roughly 30 per cent, according to new research, but some sectors such as manufacturing are much worse off than other areas like insurance and finance. As coronavirus containment measures cause businesses across the country to close and demand to slump, the UK economy has slowed dramatically. Economists have struggled [...]
