Wall Street and European markets cheer highly effective Moderna vaccine November 16, 2020 Wall Street indexes followedthe FTSE 100 and indexes in the rest of Europe higher after more good news in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine
Regulators urge more clearing scrutiny but push back buffer decision November 16, 2020 Global regulators have recommended increased scrutiny on clearing houses but have held back from saying the key financial institutions should themselves take on more of the burden of potential losses. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which coordinates rules for the G20 group of rich countries, said it would “consider during the course of 2021” whether [...]
Self-isolating Boris Johnson says he’s ‘fit as a butcher’s dog’ November 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted he is as “fit as a butcher’s dog” despite self-isolating after coming into contact with someone infected by coronavirus. Johnson said he would keep running the government via Zoom, while ministers said the PM was in good health. On Thursday, the Prime Minister spent around 35 minutes with Tory [...]
Asian stocks near record high after signing of huge RCEP trade deal November 16, 2020 Asian stock markets rose towards record highs after countries in the region signed the world’s biggest trade deal, which covers nearly a third of the globe’s population and economic output. The main Asian benchmark was on track to close at its highest ever level. China’s SSE Composite index rose one per cent while Japan’s Nikkei [...]
Wall Street slips but FTSE 100 rises as Joe Biden edges towards presidency November 6, 2020 Wall Street stocks slipped after a week of gains as Democrat challenger Joe Biden inched closer to the presidency, but the FTSE 100 rose on a mixed day’s trading. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2 per cent while the Dow Jones fell 0.3 per cent. The tech-dominated Nasdaq was 0.5 per cent lower. In the UK, [...]
US employment growth hits five-month low but beats estimates November 6, 2020 The number of Americans finding new work slipped to its lowest level in five months in October as stimulus petered out and coronavirus cases rose, although the figures came in well above expectations. Last month 638,000 Americans found jobs, the US Labor Department said today in its monthly non-farm payrolls report. That was down from [...]
UK house prices see fastest growth in four years but monthly rate slows November 6, 2020 UK house prices grew at their fastest annual rate since 2016 in October, new figures have shown, although month-on-month price growth slowed considerably. House prices jumped 7.5 per cent in October, according to the Halifax house price index, compared to 7.3 per cent in September. Yet growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent when looked [...]
Co-op Bank narrows losses but remains deep in the red November 6, 2020 The Co-operative Bank narrowed its losses in the third quarter, putting the lender on course for a better year than in 2019, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The bank’s statutory loss before tax in the third quarter was £23.5m, it said in a trading update today. That was down sharply from a loss of £80.1m in [...]
Rishi Sunak’s furlough extension ‘to cost £6.2bn a month’ November 5, 2020 The chancellor’s extension of the furlough scheme until March will cost around £6.2bn per month, the Resolution Foundation think tank has said. Sunak today announced a major U-turn, saying he would extend the scheme until the end of March rather than ending it this year. The job retention scheme – commonly known as furlough – [...]
US election: Stocks jump and FTSE 100 climbs amid rush into big tech November 5, 2020 Wall Street stocks jumped again and the FTSE 100 rose as investors snapped up big tech and sold government bonds and the dollar in response to the ongoing US presidential election. Prior to the election, investors had bet that a strong Joe Biden victory would lead to a big stimulus package that would encourage growth. [...]
