Budget 2020: Borrowing to jump while economy slows March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget splurge will put a rocket under government borrowing, the UK’s spending watchdog said today in forecasts that do not include the economic hit from coronavirus. The government is now set to borrow close to £100bn more over the next four years than it planned to just a few months ago, the [...]
Budget 2020: Rishi Sunak gives economy £30bn boost amid coronavirus outbreak March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £30bn stimulus package to support the UK economy through the coronavirus outbreak in the biggest spending spree in almost 30 years. Sunak – who was made chancellor last month – said it was one of the most comprehensive responses to the outbreak by any government. The plan earmarks £12bn [...]
UK budget watchdog: Rishi Sunak’s spending spree biggest since 1992 March 11, 2020 The UK’s budget watchdog has called chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending announcements the “largest budget giveaway since 1992” which will add more than £100bn to the public debt by 2024. In the government’s first Budget since the Conservatives’ landslide election victory in December, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £30bn stimulus package to support the economy through [...]
Budget 2020: Chancellor dodges fiscal rule change as borrowing rises March 11, 2020 UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has deferred a decision over changes to Britain’s spending rules, saying he will consult experts and report back in the autumn. The decision came as the chancellor announced the UK budget deficit would rise to 2.4 per cent of GDP in the 2020-21 financial year, up from 2.1 per cent this [...]
German economists call for more spending to tackle coronavirus March 11, 2020 Leading German economists have called on Angela Merkel’s government to increase spending and defer taxes to tackle the economic fallout from coronavirus. Germany agreed a package of measures on Sunday night that aim to help companies struggling with disruption to supply and demand and include €12.4bn (£10.9bn) in state investment. In a letter to Chancellor [...]
Rate cut reaction: Businesses welcome Bank of England emergency stimulus March 11, 2020 UK businesses, banks and academics have welcomed the Bank of England’s emergency interest rate cut and raft of other measures to support the economy as it slows amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Bank slashed rates to 0.25 per cent – the joint-lowest on record – at an emergency meeting this morning. It also offered banks [...]
UK economy posted zero growth even before coronavirus March 11, 2020 The UK economy flatlined in January, data has shown, as industrial production contracted and the services sector struggled even before coronavirus spread in Britain. The zero growth figure was below analysts’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent expansion, and shows that the pick-up in confidence after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s December election win failed to [...]
Bank of England could penalise banks for polluting assets March 10, 2020 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said Threadneedle Street is weighing up penalties for banks that hold assets that encourage polluting. Carney told parliament’s Treasury Committee in a letter that the Bank is considering a “brown penalising factor”, which he said would introduce tougher capital requirements for banks whose investments encourage “polluting and potentially [...]
Donald Trump brands Fed ‘pathetic’ after US stocks’ coronavirus bloodbath March 10, 2020 US President Donald Trump has labelled his country’s central bank “pathetic” for not cutting interest rates further in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, which sent stocks plunging yesterday. Trump’s intervention adds to the pressure on the US Federal Reserve to cut rates again after it slashed them by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage points) [...]
UK banks announce lending support for coronavirus-hit firms March 10, 2020 Some of the UK’s biggest banks have announced measures to help businesses and customers to cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Britain’s largest high-street lender Lloyds said it would offer £2bn of loans without fees to small firms hit by the virus, and said some of the worst-affected businesses would be offered [...]
