Airlines, a bakery and a football club claim BoE coronavirus cash June 4, 2020 Famous UK and foreign firms from across the economy have turned to the Bank of England for coronavirus loans, official figures have shown, with companies from John Lewis to football club Tottenham Hotspur selling the bank their bonds. German chemicals company BASF is currently the biggest borrower on the Bank’s covid corporate financing facility (CCFF), [...]
Bank of England asks banks for pandemic loan loss estimates June 4, 2020 The Bank of England has asked banks to provide information on their likely loan losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, its deputy governor Sam Woods said today. The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority will gather the data ahead of banks’ second quarter earnings to compare the timing and amount of losses with those it modelled last [...]
Green shoots: Four charts that suggest the worst is over for the UK economy June 4, 2020 The UK economy suffered its worst month in living memory in April, but there are tentative signs that things began improving in May as coronavirus restrictions were gradually lifted. “The government’s plans for a progressive opening up of non-essential stores in June suggest that the low point for the economy is behind us,” said Ruth [...]
BoE’s Andrew Bailey tells UK banks to up preparations for no-deal Brexit June 3, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reportedly told UK banks to ramp up their preparations for a no-deal Brexit as the UK sticks to its target to strike a deal before the end of the year. Bailey told British lenders to accelerate their planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario in a call yesterday, according [...]
News Group hit with 45 new phone hacking claims June 2, 2020 Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers has been hit with 45 new phone hacking legal claims in the last week, court filings reveal. The Sun-owner has had 85 claims issued against it for phone hacking since May 2018, data from litigation analytics company Solomonic shows. The latest batch of claimants includes Hollywood star Johnny Depp, TV [...]
Bank of England governor Bailey to be interview by London Capital & Finance inquiry June 2, 2020 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey is to be interviewed as part of an inquiry into how regulators supervised collapsed mini bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF), the investigations chair dame Elizabeth Gloster said today. LCF went into administration in early 2019 with 11,600 investors losing up to £237m. LCF was regulated by [...]
Ofgem unveils £350m scheme to support struggling energy suppliers June 2, 2020 Ofgem has today unveiled a £350m scheme to support struggling energy suppliers which do not possess an investment grade credit rating. As a result of the coronavirus crisis, many households have defaulted on the payment of energy bills, which has heaped pressure of electricity and gas suppliers. In an open letter, Ofgem chief executive Jonathan [...]
UK mortgage approvals plunge to record low during lockdown June 2, 2020 UK household borrowing dried up at a record rate in April and mortgage approvals plunged to their lowest since 1993 as consumers drew in their horns while the economy was ravaged by coronavirus. Instead of borrowing, households repaid their debts at a record pace. They returned £7.4bn to banks in the largest net repayment since [...]
How far are crypto and digital currencies from the mainstream? June 2, 2020 Technology research firm Novum Insights looks at mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency and examines which areas might win this race. Cryptocurrency markets had a great run in April and a period of relative stability in May, which could draw enough attention to propel some into the mainstream. This kind of price action has resulted in heavy [...]
Strong economic recovery from coronavirus pandemic predicted June 1, 2020 A strong economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic is likely, with conditions ripe for a quick turnaround, a report published today said. The unusual nature of this recession could be a silver lining for recovery, the report by Oxford Economics said. GDP has fallen because of a planned, partial economic shutdown, so in theory activity [...]