Lloyds swings to loss as it sets aside extra £2.4bn for bad loans July 30, 2020 UK banking giant Lloyds swung to a £600m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year today as coronavirus cost it an extra £2.4bn. The provision for loan losses was bigger than the £1.5bn analysts had anticipated. It took total provisions for the first half of the year to £3.8bn. Read more: Barclays braces [...]
Chinese ambassador: Britain has ‘seriously poisoned’ China-UK relations July 30, 2020 China’s ambassador to the UK has slammed Britain’s criticism of the Chinese government, saying it has “seriously poisoned the atmosphere of China-UK relationships”. In a significant escalation of tensions between the two nations, Liu Xiaoming lambasted the “lies and slanders” he claimed were being “cooked up” by the UK government and media. Speaking to a [...]
Carmakers shed 11,000 jobs as production set for worst year since 1957 July 30, 2020 More than 11,000 people in the automotive industry have lost their job in the last six months due to coronavirus, as the sector heads for its worst year of car production since 1957. According to new figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 880,000 cars are expected to be [...]
How badly will coronavirus hit UK house prices in 2020? July 29, 2020 Property experts hope a stamp duty holiday and relaxed lockdown restrictions will protect UK house prices from a sharp coronavirus fall this year. At the height of lockdown, experts predicted that UK house prices could fall by as much as 10 per cent this year due to the impact of coronavirus. However, chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
Who will the PM hire as the press conference spokesperson? July 29, 2020 The Prime Minister today launched a search for a spokesperson to host White House-style daily televised press briefings, in a bid to boost government transparency during the pandemic. An advert for the job posted on the Conservative’s Linkedin page suggested that the successful candidate will be a well-known figure on the political circuit, and assured [...]
What has driven stock market returns and what could drive them in the future? July 29, 2020 Increasing valuations have been the main driver of stock market returns since Covid-19, but when we look over the past five years, we find a different set of drivers. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, markets have climbed a wall of worry, despite cuts to corporate earnings, forecasts and dividends. Increasing valuations have been the main [...]
28 months later: are European equities back on investors’ radar? July 29, 2020 European equity flows turned positive in June for the first time in 28 months – we look at what might be reviving investor interest in the asset class. It’s been a tough couple of years for pan-European equities. A combination of political worries, including Brexit, and weak economic growth means many investors have shunned the [...]
Corporate spy firm tries to clean up ‘James Bond’ industry’s image July 29, 2020 Technology firm Ground Truth Intelligence (GTI) has today launched its ethical investigations platform in London, as the company seeks to shake-up the corporate intelligence industry following high-profile scandals involving companies such as Lekoil and Credit Suisse. The London-headquartered firm is set to provide an “alternative approach” to the global intelligence and investigations industry, offering ethical [...]
UK just weeks away from signing Japan free trade deal July 29, 2020 The UK is on the verge of signing a free trade deal with Japan, with the agreement set to be closed within a matter of weeks. Negotiations, which began just six weeks ago, have reportedly reached a breakthrough point with the dialogue at an “advanced stage”, according to a government source. The Sun reports that [...]
Coronavirus pushes Santander to €11bn loss July 29, 2020 Santander suffered a record loss of €11bn (£10bn) in its latest half-year, it revealed today, as coronavirus provisions tanked its bottom line. The figures A massive €12.6bn impairment relating to coronavirus meant Santander swung to a €10.8bn loss for the first half of 2020. Underlying profit before tax halved to €3.8bn year on year. And [...]