Coronavirus: BMW gives profit warning as carmaker shuts factories March 18, 2020 German auto giant BMW has warned that vehicle deliveries and profit will both fall this year due to the impact of coronavirus as it prepares to suspend production at its plants in Rosslyn, Europe and South Africa. The carmaker said it was taking the steps both as a precaution against its employees getting infected and [...]
Seven firms suspend UK property funds as virus casts uncertainty over assets March 18, 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments and BMO have joined five other firms who have suspended their property funds after independent valuers introduced material valuation uncertainty clauses due to the coronavirus outbreak. The UK commercial property market is facing unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic. Valuation firms are now saying that they can no longer make reliable [...]
Aviva Investors suspends property funds as CBRE warns of market uncertainty March 18, 2020 Aviva Investors has suspended its property fund, following similar decisions by Kames Capital and Janus Henderson yesterday. In a statement, Aviva Investors said the coronavirus outbreak had impacted the UK property market and “made it difficult to value the property owned by the funds with the same degree of certainty as would otherwise be the [...]
The Tories risk becoming an irrelevant party in the capital March 18, 2020 The decision to postpone May’s London mayoral election a full year due to the coronavirus pandemic offers an opportunity for parties to reflect on a to-date lacklustre campaign. For the current mayor Sadiq Khan, generally good poll ratings have sat uneasily alongside persistent questions about seemingly out-of-control knife crime, the long-delayed completion of the new [...]
Cost of living falls in European cities March 18, 2020 European cities are becoming cheaper to live in, according to data released today. The numbers from the Economist Intelligence Unit show Paris is no longer the world’s most expensive city. Osaka, Singapore and Hong Kong jointly hold the top spot with Paris falling to fifth, behind New York. Nicholas Fitzroy, The EIU’s risk briefing director [...]
Kames Capital suspends property income fund due to market uncertainty March 17, 2020 Kames Capital has become a victim of the turbulent market as it temporarily suspends its property income fund. In a statement to investors, Kames said: “Following continued market volatility and uncertainly for property funds, which began with the 2016 Brexit Referendum and continued in recent weeks with the Corona Virus pandemic the valuers of the [...]
Brexit talks scrapped as coronavirus escalates March 17, 2020 The second round of trade talks between the UK and the EU have been cancelled in light of the escalating coronavirus outbreak. Negotiating teams led by David Frost on the UK’s side and Michel Barnier on the EU’s were due to meet in London tomorrow to continue to thrash out a deal to set the [...]
City of London Corporation to scale down during coronavirus outbreak March 17, 2020 The City of London Corporation will move to postpone some of its set piece events and limit the number of face-to-face meetings during the Covid-19 outbreak. The local authority sent out a statement today, signalling it would postpone some of its major fixtures, such as the June Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House. The [...]
German investor morale collapses on coronavirus epidemic March 17, 2020 Morale among German investors has fallen through the floor amid the coronavirus outbreak, a survey showed today, as a global recession becomes increasingly likely. The closely-watched ZEW think tank sentiment survey crashed to minus 49.5 in March from 8.7 in February. This took it to levels not seen since the financial crisis of 2008 and [...]
Time to fight the power: How we should reform the Civil Service March 17, 2020 Coronavirus means that any prospect there was of an economic “Boris bounce” has gone. Instead we are looking at a dramatic downturn, both in Britain and across the wider world. Dealing with this pandemic is, rightly, the focus of the government’s attention at the moment. How effective the government is in dealing with the immediate [...]