US stocks plummet again as traders shrug off coronavirus stimulus March 18, 2020 Wall Street plunged once again today despite the prospect of a $1 trillion (£850bn) fiscal stimulus package to support the economy during the coronavirus outbreak and yet more action from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average index was last down 10.7 per cent, the S&P 500 had shed 9.7 per cent, and the [...]
Pound crashes to 1980s lows amid coronavirus sell-off March 18, 2020 The British pound has suffered a historic plunge to its lowest level since 1985 as concerns mount about the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak and as investors flock towards the dollar. Sterling was last down four per cent against the dollar at $1.158, its lowest point since the economic turbulence of the 1980s and one [...]
BoE governor Andrew Bailey: Don’t sack workers due to coronavirus slowdown March 18, 2020 The new Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said companies thinking about laying off workers should first consider the support the government and Threadneedle Street has made available to them during the coronavirus outbreak. Bailey also said he would not rule out any steps for the Bank of England at this stage, leaving the [...]
Eurozone bond yields jump after another ECB blunder March 18, 2020 Italian bond yields suffered a big intraday spike today after a European Central Bank (ECB) council member suggested monetary policy was at its limits amid the coronavirus outbreak. Yields on Italy’s 10-year bond shot up as much as 60 basis points (0.6 percentage points) to touch three per cent before falling back to around 2.296 [...]
Coronavirus panic wipes out FTSE 100 stimulus gains as European stocks sink March 18, 2020 Panicked investors this morning more than wiped out the gains the FTSE 100 made yesterday, as traders shrug off massive stimulus packages from governments and keep selling risk assets over fears of a coronavirus-induced recession. The FTSE 100 was last down 4.8 per cent, having shed 252 points to stand at 5,042 points. Read more: [...]
US stock markets rebound after new Fed coronavirus action March 17, 2020 US stock markets today clawed back around half of yesterday’s losses after their worst session since 1987’s Black Monday crash as the Fed’s move to buy companies’ short-term debt cooled fears. The S&P 500 closed six per cent higher, the Dow Jones finished 5.2 per cent, up and the Nasdaq climbed 6.2 per cent. The [...]
Donald Trump weighing up sending Americans cheques amid coronavirus March 17, 2020 The US government is weighing up sending cheques to American citizens as it tries to negotiate a $850bn (£700bn) stimulus package with Congress to deal with the economic consequences of coronavirus. US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said the government could send cheques – which could be worth $1000 – to Americans in the next two [...]
Federal Reserve launches corporate debt purchases to tackle coronavirus fallout March 17, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has continued its dramatic intervention in the markets with a pledge to buy short-term corporate debt to help ease the strain on companies amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Fed will relaunch the financial crisis-era system and buy up so-called commercial paper directly from firms that issue it. Companies use commercial paper [...]
Global fund manager sentiment collapses on coronavirus fears March 17, 2020 Sentiment among global fund managers has collapsed due to coronavirus and the oil shock as investors increasingly expect a global recession and fear the surging risk of debt defaults. The Bank of America (BoA) global fund manager survey showed sentiment crashing close to 2008/9’s “bear extremes”, with the biggest drop in global growth expectations on [...]
German investor morale collapses on coronavirus epidemic March 17, 2020 Morale among German investors has fallen through the floor amid the coronavirus outbreak, a survey showed today, as a global recession becomes increasingly likely. The closely-watched ZEW think tank sentiment survey crashed to minus 49.5 in March from 8.7 in February. This took it to levels not seen since the financial crisis of 2008 and [...]
