Coronavirus: FTSE 100 and European stocks trim gains April 9, 2020 The FTSE 100 trimmed gains along with the major European stocks after jumping on today’s open, but traders still hope the coronavirus pandemic is peaking. Traders pushed London’s blue-chip index back into the green as it opened 1.9 per cent higher to 5,781 points. The FTSE 100’s 100-point jump came after a 0.5 per cent [...]
Bank of England to finance government borrowing during coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The Bank of England has agreed to temporarily finance government borrowing during the coronavirus crisis, a measure last used extensively during the financial crisis. The UK government normally borrows money via the issues of bonds to the market. The measure announced today gives the government more flexibility in raising cash quickly. “As a temporary measure, [...]
Nearly half of UK companies have scrapped dividend payments April 9, 2020 Nearly half of UK companies have scrapped dividend payouts as the coronavirus crisis batters business. The pace of dividend cuts has accelerated since the FTSE 100 slumped to its lowest point in over 25 years last month. Link Group’s UK dividend monitor shows 45 per cent of UK companies have scrapped payments, worth £28.2bn. It [...]
British bank bosses give up bonuses amid coronavirus crisis April 8, 2020 Top bosses at British banks including Natwest and Lloyds have taken salary cuts and ditched bonuses worth millions of pounds as consumers and businesses suffer the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Natwest chief executive Alison Rose will donate a quarter of her remaining salary for 2020 — set at £2.2m per year — to a [...]
Coronavirus: A traffic light loosening gives the economy hope April 8, 2020 The strategy of exiting from the lockdown is far too important to be left in the hands of health professionals. The government’s advisors have played very valuable roles in helping to avert the sort of crisis which overwhelmed the health services in Northern Italy. Many who were seriously ill with the virus died unnecessarily because [...]
Easyjet accused of spending £600m of taxpayer money on Airbus deal April 8, 2020 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has once again lashed out at the firm, saying the carrier’s receipt of £600m in loans from the government “could be the biggest scandal in British corporate history”. The Greek-Cypriot businessman has pressured Easyjet’s board to scrap a £4.5bn order for 107 new planes from Airbus. Haji-Ioannou believes cancelling the [...]
Robert Walters blames ‘savage’ coronavirus for UK profit hit April 8, 2020 Recruiter Robert Walters has bemoaned the “savage” economic impact of coronavirus as UK fee income slumped 29 per cent over the first quarter of 2020. The recruitment agency is seen as an economic bellwether and took a hit from Brexit uncertainty and the lead-up to December’s General Election in 2019. “It’s largely a hangover from [...]
Insurance: Hiscox, Aviva, RSA and Direct Line suspend dividends following Bank of England pressure April 8, 2020 Insurance companies Hiscox, RSA, Aviva and Direct Line have this morning announced the suspension of their dividends after regulatory pressure from the Bank of England. Sam Woods, deputy governor of the Bank’s Prudential Regulatory Authority wrote to chief executives of major insurers on 31 March asking them to “pay close attention to the need to [...]
Coronavirus: UK job vacancies contract for first time in more than a decade April 8, 2020 UK job vacancies contracted for the first time in more than a decade last month as the coronavirus outbreak caused demand for staff to plummet. A survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG said the vacancy measure dipped below 50 for the first time since September 2009, falling to 47.8 in March. The [...]
Coronavirus loan scheme risks ‘wall of redundancies and defaults’ say critics April 7, 2020 The failure of the coronavirus loan programme to help struggling small and medium-sized businesses risks triggering a “wall of redundancies and defaults” say critics.