Sajid Javid: UK should run the economy ‘hot’ and support lenders May 8, 2020 Former chancellor Sajid Javid has said the government should “run the economy hot” and lift coronavirus restrictions to encourage growth. He also suggested “bad banks” could be created to help the UK’s lenders which are set to struggle with bad loans as coronavirus crashes the economy. Javid’s intervention came after the Bank of England yesterday [...]
What time is the Queen’s VE Day speech? May 8, 2020 The Queen will address the nation today for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, although celebrations will be muted with the country in lockdown due to coronavirus. Despite the pandemic, Royal Air Force jets will fly over the UK’s four capitals to mark Victory in Europe day, when Nazi Germany surrendered during World War II. [...]
UK economy: Is the Bank of England’s 2021 rebound scenario too optimistic? May 7, 2020 The Bank of England today said the UK economy could suffer its worst economic crash in 300 years this year as the coronavirus lockdown batters the economy. Yet it said it is likely to bounce back relatively quickly. Despite the dire report it stopped short of launching more bond-buying or “quantitative easing” (QE) and left [...]
Bank of England: UK economy could suffer biggest crash in 300 years May 7, 2020 The UK economy is likely to shrink by an enormous 14 per cent in 2020 in its worst crash in 300 years amid the coronavirus pandemic before rebounding strongly in 2021, the Bank of England has said as it kept interest rates on hold at their current record-low levels. The Bank said it expected the [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 rises as countries lift coronavirus lockdowns May 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 and European stocks have risen, boosted by gains in healthcare even as dire economic data lays bare the effects of coronavirus. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was trading 0.65 per cent higher before falling slightly to trade up 0.17 per cent at 5,859 points. It climbed around 1.8 per cent yesterday. The mid-cap [...]
UK economy to shrink eight per cent this year amid coronavirus, says EU May 6, 2020 The UK economy will shrink by 8.3 per cent this year as Europe is ravaged by coronavirus and the lockdown measures put in place to contain it, the European Commission has predicted. Paolo Gentiloni, European commissioner for the economy, said: “Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent since the Great Depression.” In the UK, [...]
Coronavirus: UK construction sector grinds to a halt in worst month on record May 6, 2020 UK construction sector activity juddered to a halt in April, survey data has shown, as coronavirus lockdown measures pushed the industry to its worst month on record. The IHS Markit/Cips construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge of the health of the sector, plunged to an all-time low of 8.2 in April from 39.3 in [...]
Eurozone economy crashes at fastest pace on record May 6, 2020 The Eurozone private sector suffered its worst month on record in April as coronavirus lockdown measures caused consumer demand to all but evaporate, survey data has confirmed. The closely watched IHS Markit composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) plunged to 13.5 in April from 29.7 in March, which was the previous record low. A score of [...]
Co-operative Bank takes £12m hit from coronavirus as losses continue May 6, 2020 The Co-operative Bank booked a loss in the first quarter as it took a £12m hit from coronavirus, it has said in a trading update. The challenger bank said today that it made an underlying loss of £14.2m in the first three months of the year. This was down from a loss of £5.1m in [...]
Coronavirus: US services sector contracts for first time in over a decade May 5, 2020 The US services sector shrank for the first time in more than a decade in April, survey data has shown, as coronavirus lockdown measures caused demand to plummet and businesses to close. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) closely watched “PMI” gauge of services sector activity fell to 41.8 in April. It was the first [...]
