New FCA boss to hold crisis coronavirus meeting with banks March 29, 2020 The interim boss of the City watchdog is set to hold crisis talks tomorrow with the Bank of England and the heads of the high street banks to try and plot a course through the economic chaos triggered by coronavirus. Chris Woolard said he wanted the industry to work out how to protect people unable [...]
Virgin Money delays branch closures in face of coronavirus March 29, 2020 Challenger bank Virgin Money is reviewing plans to close branches as lenders focus on mitigating the impact of the coronavirus. Hundreds of jobs earmarked for redundancy could also now be put on hold as the bank pauses branch closure plans, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Read more: Lloyds suspends 780 planned job cuts amid coronavirus [...]
How are the central banks battling coronavirus? March 27, 2020 As countries ramp up efforts to control the pandemic, the economic impact of Covid-19 is having an impact on currency values As the reality of the pandemic begins to bite, it’s clear that normal rules no longer apply. Economies across the world are plummeting and governments are scrambling to protect as much as they can [...]
Coronavirus: US stocks shake off dire unemployment data March 26, 2020 US stocks shook off awful unemployment data this afternoon to climb higher as traders pinned their hopes on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package. The Nasdaq rose 3.5 per cent by 4.30pm, while the Dow Jones climbed a whopping 4.9 per cent. The S&P 500 posted a large rise of 4.3 per cent. Yesterday the [...]
Coronavirus: Bank of England holds rates but paints gloomy economic picture March 26, 2020 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at the record low level of 0.1 per cent but signalled it is prepared to take further action to tackle the effects of coronavirus. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) today said it “stands ready to respond further as necessary to guard against an unwarranted [...]
Coronavirus: FTSE firms get an extra two months to publish results March 26, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said listed companies could have an extra two months to publish their financial results. In a joint statement with audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the FCA said: “Companies and their auditors currently face unprecedented challenges in preparing and [...]
Royal Navy shadowing Russian warships in the Channel and North Sea March 26, 2020 The Royal Navy has been tracking seven Russian warships after detecting “unusually high levels” of activity in the Channel and North Sea. “The Navy has completed a concentrated operation to shadow the Russian warships after unusually high levels of activity in the English Channel and North Sea,” the Royal Navy said. Nine UK warships were [...]
Coronavirus: Moody’s downgrades outlook for Europe’s biggest banking systems March 26, 2020 Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded the outlook for six of Europe’s biggest banking systems to “negative” as coronavirus threatens lenders’ profitability and asset quality. Moody’s said the banking systems of France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium face a very difficult year and can therefore no longer keep their “stable” rating. The ratings agency [...]
Coronavirus: New York and London slip up in financial centres ranking March 26, 2020 The world’s leading financial centres saw their ratings tumble in an annual survey today as the global coronavirus pandemic saw investors flee for the relative stability of western Europe. New York and London kept their top two positions in the Global Financial Centres Index list, which measures the competitiveness of the world’s financial centres. But [...]
Non-Standard Finance cuts lending amid coronavirus outbreak March 26, 2020 Non-Standard Finance is cutting lending across its divisions in a bid to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on its financial performance. The sub-prime lender said it is reducing lending volumes across all three of its divisions to shift resources to managing collections. The group said it would continue to offer credit, subject to [...]