A sea apart: UK dismisses EU Brexit fishing offer as ‘derisory’ November 28, 2020 A post-Brexit trade deal appeared to be a way off this weekend after the UK reportedly labelled the EU’s offer on fishing rights “derisory”. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is back in London today for the latest round of talks. Face-to-face negotiations had to be postponed just over a week ago when a member of [...]
Boris Johnson appoints new minister for UK coronavirus vaccine rollout November 28, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made Nadhim Zahawi the minister responsible for overseeing the rollout of coronavirus vaccines at the health department, in the latest sign that the government is laying the groundwork for the jabs to become widely available. Zahawi – who has been the Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon for a decade – will [...]
FTSE 100 heads for second-best month on record but still lags peers November 28, 2020 Britain’s FTSE 100 stock index is on track for its second-best month in history as optimism about vaccines boosts unloved sectors such as financials and industrials that dominate the UK corporate landscape. Yet the index is still well behind its global peers this year. Despite US markets and global stocks hitting record highs, the UK [...]
US stocks hit all-time high but FTSE 100 lags November 27, 2020 US stock markets hit fresh all-time highs despite the thin post-thanksgiving trading, while the FTSE 100 lagged behind amid worries about Brexit and the economy. Wall Street’s S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent in the early part of the session. The Dow Jones climbed 0.2 per cent while the Nasdaq jumped 0.9 per cent. All [...]
Eurozone economic confidence slides amid soaring Covid cases November 27, 2020 Economic confidence fell sharply in the Eurozone in November, a new survey has shown, as the bloc grappled with soaring coronavirus cases and countries put in place economically damaging restrictions. The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator dropped 3.5 points to 87.6, having recovered sharply in the summer after the lockdowns of the spring. It comes [...]
Capita confirms talks to sell ESS to private equity firm Montagu November 27, 2020 UK outsourcing group Capita today said it is in exclusive talks with private equity firm Montagu about the potential sale of its Education Software Solutions (ESS) business. Capita said it “confirms” the negotiations after media speculation. Yet it said there “can be no certainty” that a deal will be reached. Bloomberg last month reported that [...]
Tiered lockdowns spread gloom over UK services sector November 27, 2020 Firms in the UK services sector became much more gloomy in the third quarter of the year as the Covid “second wave crashed”, after optimism picked up in the summer when cases were falling, the latest CBI survey has shown. The consumer services sector was particularly downbeat, with the pandemic hitting business harder than in [...]
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies plunge after nearing record highs November 26, 2020 Bitcoin has plunged after coming within touching distance of a new all-time high yesterday, with investors second-guessing the cryptocurrency’s recent surge and profit-taking towards the end of a volatile week. The biggest cryptocurrency was last down around 11.6 per cent to $16,921. It had fallen as much as 13 per cent earlier in the day. [...]
FTSE 100 declines after Tier 2 announcements and dismal economic data from Sunak November 26, 2020 The FTSE 100 slipped as investors digested the dire economic outlook offered by chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday and the new Tier 2 restrictions for London, putting an end to the recent vaccine-driven rally. London’s main stock index fell 0.46 per cent, taking it down to 6,361 points. It followed a fall of around 0.6 per [...]
Coronavirus set to be ‘way less’ damaging than 2008 crash: IFS November 26, 2020 The hit to the UK economy from the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be “way less” than the impact of the financial crisis should the budget watchdog’s predictions come true, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has said. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) yesterday said the economy would likely end up three [...]
