Coronavirus: The future fund needs a 2.0 May 20, 2020 The month between the announcement of the Future Fund – part of the government’s billion-pound package of financial support for innovative firms hit by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic – and its opening for applications today has seen concerted lobbying from those concerned that it will fail to work as intended. I share those [...]
Wellbeing must be at the heart of Britain’s ‘back to work’ efforts May 20, 2020 The coronavirus crisis has turned millions of us into home workers. While the new regime has worked well for some, for others it has been more challenging. For many people, work and home life have been positively rebalanced now that lengthy commute times are non-existent, but others feel isolated, miss the buzz of an office [...]
UK inflation rate plunges to lowest level since 2016 amid coronavirus May 20, 2020 The UK inflation rate tumbled from 1.5 per cent in March to 0.8 per cent in April as coronavirus pushed Britain into lockdown, according to data out today. Collapsing oil prices contributed to the plunge in the consumer prices index (CPI) that determines the inflation rate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It fell [...]
Understanding what’s driving market reactions is vital May 20, 2020 Our lack of understanding of the coronavirus has added to the challenges confronting politicians and policy makers in recent months, and this in turn has fed the uncertainty impacting financial markets. There are six broad areas influencing markets: the virus itself; the economic picture; the corporate outlook; policy; second-round effects; and lessons from the past. [...]
Crisis could be a chance to change education for the better May 20, 2020 In the mid-19th century, Japan was an impoverished feudal backwater. A fleet of American warships totally humiliated their navy, and compelled Japan to sign a highly disadvantageous treaty. Within a matter of just a few years, the Japanese completely transformed their system of government and industrialised very rapidly. This is just one of many historical [...]
Shakespeare: Primed and ready? May 20, 2020 Budget fast-fashion retailer Primark has been one of the biggest players of the high street since rapidly expanding in the UK during the mid-noughties. According to YouGov Ratings data, Primark is sixth most popular fashion and clothing brand among Britons, while YouGov Profiles data shows two thirds of all Brits would consider purchasing clothes from [...]
The City View: The pandemic-shaped hole in global dividends, with Jane Shoemake of Janus Henderson May 20, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Jane Shoemake, investment director at Janus Henderson’s global dividend index. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS With dividends set to slump between 15 and 35 per cent this year, where should the income investor look? There are a few bright spots and safe havens amid the gloom, but on [...]
Coronavirus: Over half of UK firms cannot reopen fully, survey shows May 20, 2020 Almost 50 per cent of UK firms are only ready to partially reopen their businesses as the government lifts the coronavirus lockdown, a survey has shown, with one in 10 saying they cannot restart at all due to Covid guidelines. The survey, from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), also showed that 85 per cent [...]
£500m Future Fund launch mired by fears startups will miss out May 20, 2020 Future Fund, the government’s £500m answer to startups’ need for cash to survive coronavirus, is set to launch today – but risks freezing out a swathe of British firms, entrepreneurs and investors have warned. That many startups cannot yet demonstrate a turnover, and that they typically rely on equity investment for cash flow, excludes most [...]
Coronavirus: Government launches £500m Future Fund for startups May 20, 2020 Startups that have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak will now be able to apply for emergency support under the government’s £500m Future Fund scheme. The fund, which opened for applications today, will offer UK-based startups convertible loans of between £125,000 and £5m to support continued growth and innovation across a range of sectors. The [...]
