Crisis has taught leaders the value of compassion May 20, 2020 With more pressure on our political system than ever, we must not forget what really counts – our compassion and soft power. In a matter of weeks, all our lives have been transformed in ways that we never thought we would accept: our freedoms limited, our employment insecure, our children temporarily uneducated and our bank [...]
Crispin Odey: Governments may ban private gold ownership May 20, 2020 Hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey has warned that governments may ban private ownership of gold if they lose control of inflation in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The price of gold has soared since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as jittery investors flock to safe haven assets amid a wider recession. Odey said [...]
Venezuela sues Bank of England to force access to $1bn gold reserves May 20, 2020 Venezuela’s central bank has submitted a legal claim to make the Bank of England hand over $1bn in gold reserves so President Maduro can finance the country’s coronavirus response. According to a legal filing submitted today, Venezuela has asked the BoE to liquidate the funds and send them to the United Nations to help battle [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 rises as recovery hopes boost global stocks May 20, 2020 The UK’s FTSE 100 has closed higher after a choppy day of trading as hopes of a recovery from the coronavirus downturn offset dire economic data and doubts about a new vaccine. The blue-chip index rose 1.08 per cent to 6,067 points, aided by a surge in data firm Experian, which posted strong results. European [...]
BoE’s Andrew Bailey: It would be ‘foolish’ to rule out negative interest rates May 20, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said it would be “foolish” to rule out negative interest rates but said the BoE is “not ruling it in” either. The governor has previously argued against negative rates but admitted today: “I have changed my position a bit.” Chatter about negative interest rates has increased in recent [...]
Met Office confirms hottest day of the year as mercury pushes 28 degrees May 20, 2020 The Met Office has confirmed that it is the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 27.8 degrees at Heathrow Airport. The record comes after a string of days of hot, sunny weather, with the mercury reaching 26 degrees in London yesterday. However, the coming days will likely see cooler temperatures, with [...]
UK sells bond with negative yield for first time ever May 20, 2020 The UK has sold a bond with a negative yield for the first time ever, meaning investors want to hold government debt so much that they will pay to do so. The three-year bond sold at an average yield of minus 0.003 per cent. The bond has a “coupon” of 0.75 per cent, but because [...]
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 [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slip as investor excitement cools May 19, 2020 US stocks have followed the FTSE 100 lower as investor sentiment cools following a dramatic rally yesterday on hopes that a coronavirus vaccine may soon emerge. Wall Street’s Dow Jones index was down 0.6 per cent shortly after the bell. The S&P 500 was 0.3 per cent lower but the Nasdaq was up 0.2 per [...]
Coronavirus loans hit £22bn, but just 50 per cent of CBILS lending approved May 19, 2020 UK banks have only approved 50 per cent of applications to the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), data showed today, even as overall lending hit £22bn. CBILS lending data showed British lenders have distributed that cash to more than half a million UK companies, with over £14bn lent out in the form of bounce [...]