Covid-19 recession will be ‘different’ to others, says BoE’s Andrew Bailey June 10, 2020 The recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic will be “different” to others, but some early signs of recovery are already apparent, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said. Speaking at a panel discussion today, Bailey said he could already see some signs of economic recovery as lockdown restrictions are lifted in the UK, but warned [...]
OECD: UK economy to take world’s biggest hit from Covid-19 June 10, 2020 The UK will suffer the largest economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic among major nations this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned. Predicting that the UK economy could contract between 11.5 and 14 per cent in 2020, the organisation said Covid-19 represents the biggest peacetime economic downturn in a century [...]
Bank of England set to reload bond-buying programme with £100bn June 10, 2020 The Bank of England is expected to announce a further £100bn for its bond-buying programme when it meets next week in order to limit the damage to the UK economy by the coronavirus crisis. The central bank has already spent the majority of the record £200bn expansion to its asset purchase programme which it made [...]
Get the Bank of England focused on the real economy June 10, 2020 Economic policy is returning to its usual position of prominence. Fears of a major rise in unemployment are starting to worry the government more than fears around Covid-19. The chancellor’s imaginative schemes concerning furlough and other measures to protect jobs create potential problems elsewhere. So much money is being borrowed that the ratio of public [...]
BoE’s Cunliffe anticipates ‘great deal of pain’ for financial sector June 9, 2020 The initial shock of the pandemic to the financial system may have passed but another abrupt repricing of risk is possible, according to the Bank of England’s (BoE) deputy governor. “The first phase – the initial shock and adjustment to a far more challenging economic outlook in the near term – has passed,” Sir Jon [...]
Steel firm Celsa closes in on £30m loan June 9, 2020 A Cardiff-based steelmaker is nearing a deal with the government for a loan of £30m to bolster its finances amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Sky News reported. If an agreement is reached, Spanish-owned Celsa Steel UK will be one of the first firms to agree a bespoke funding deal outside the government’s official schemes. Although [...]
Number of workers on UK furlough scheme nears 9m June 9, 2020 Almost 9m workers in the UK have been furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic at a cost of £19.6bn, according to new figures from the Treasury. As of 7 June, 8.9m jobs were being supported by the government under its coronavirus job retention scheme, an increase of 200,000 on the week before. Businesses have now [...]
French government presents €15bn aid package to save aviation sector June 9, 2020 The French government has this morning unveiled a €15bn (£13.3bn) plan to save its aerospace industry, saying that 100,000 jobs are at risk due to the coronavirus crisis. The rescue package, which includes pre-announced measures such as a €7bn loan to flag carrier Air France, comes amid the worst aviation downturn in history. New measures [...]
Bellway cautious on trading after coronavirus lockdown forces house sales down June 9, 2020 British housebuilder Bellway sold about 1,000 fewer homes between August and May, after it closed its centres because of the coronavirus lockdown. The Newcastle-based company, which has restarted construction activity on around 230 sites, warned this morning that it expects sales activity to be “severely constrained”, driving shares down 2.7 per cent. Bellway sold 6,721 [...]
Q&A: Why do markets rise even when the outlook is bleak? June 9, 2020 The global economy is on track for its worst recession in nearly 100 years, yet April was the market’s best monthly performance in three decades and the S&P 500 has just turned positive for 2020. Why? The first quarter of 2020 has been tough for the global economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [...]