Andrew Bailey: Bank of England will take ‘prompt action’ over coronavirus if needed March 16, 2020 New Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has pledged to take more “prompt action” when needed to tackle the economic fallout from coronavirus, raising the prospect of another interest rate cut. Speaking for the first time as governor after replacing Mark Carney today, Bailey emphasised in a BBC interview the “strong coordination among central bank” [...]
Coronavirus: Australian shares suffer worst fall on record as Asia slides March 16, 2020 Australian shares today suffered their biggest daily fall on record as analysts warned the global economy was teetering on the brink of a recession. The benchmark ASX200 index closed down 9.7 per cent as the coronavirus outbreak continued to roil global markets. The ASX200 has fallen roughly 30 per cent since its highest in February [...]
A levelling up agenda cannot afford to overlook the UK’s beating financial heart March 16, 2020 With the strong and unpredictable economic headwinds of 2020, last week’s Budget came at a critical juncture. All eyes were on the new chancellor, in particular on what the Budget might propose to alleviate some of the short-term Covid-19 shocks to the economy. Efforts to support households and businesses, particularly SMEs, through the Covid-19 outbreak [...]
Andrew Bailey takes over with Bank of England battling coronavirus recession March 16, 2020 Andrew Bailey is no stranger to a tough job. But the incoming Bank of England governor, who takes up his new role as Mark Carney steps down tomorrow, could never have anticipated the size of the challenge that awaits him at Threadneedle Street. Bailey’s time at the Financial Conduct Authority began in the wake of [...]
Federal Reserve slashes interest rates to zero amid coronavirus chaos March 15, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to near zero this evening in a fresh attempt to shore up the economy amid the devastation caused by the coronavirus epidemic. The move, which cuts rates to 0.0 to 0.25 per cent, comes just days after an initial emergency cut of 50 basis points, which had [...]
Economists warn of global recession as coronavirus spreads March 15, 2020 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says a global recession comes when annual international growth slips below 2.5 per cent. More charitable economists say it has to fall below two per cent. Either way, economists around have warned in recent days, the coronavirus outbreak means the world is heading for one. Covid-19 last week spread rapidly [...]
This week: GBP / EUR Update March 13, 2020 Brexit concerns faded into the background this week as the market focused on the coronavirus pandemic. At the beginning of the week, UK equities opened around 9% below Friday’s closing levels, putting pressure on sterling. The emergency rate cut from the Bank of England midweek had an immediate effect, pushing the pound lower before it [...]
Keith Wade: Is the world now heading for recession? March 13, 2020 As I returned to the UK last weekend, my taxi driver talked of panic-buying and impending food shortages. Having wondered if I had stepped off at the wrong airport, it subsequently became clear that his thinking was very close to that of the markets. On Monday (9 March), equities sold off and credit spreads widened [...]
Regulators to review financial sector levy in the wake of “unacceptable” IT failures March 13, 2020 Regulators have welcomed a number of reforms to the financial services sector after the Treasury Committee called its IT failures “unacceptable”. The Treasury Committee’s report, which was published last October, called on the regulators to address the growing number of tech issues in the financial services sector. As part of the proposed reforms, the committee [...]
Corona Crash: Global markets suffer worst day since 1987 as virus spreads March 13, 2020 The FTSE 100 yesterday chalked up its biggest one-day fall since the Black Monday crash in 1987, plunging 10.87 per cent as the scale and likely impact of the coronavirus pandemic became clear. After a sea of dire corporate warnings across the globe, US stocks also suffered their biggest fall since 1987 before the New [...]