Help retail workers weather the mental health storm October 21, 2020 You’re having “one of those days” — you know, the kind we all seem to be having with increasing regularity. But you’ve got to pop to the shops to pick up some essentials. Parking is a nightmare, and to cap it all, it’s raining. You’re anxious about all sorts of things and quite frankly, you’re [...]
More important for US to be right than first on digital currency, says Fed’s Powell October 19, 2020 It is more important for the US to get the development of a cross-border digital currency (CBDC) right than to be first, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said. Speaking to a panel discussion hosted by the International Monetary Fund, Powell said it was vital for the Fed to assess the impact of such a currency [...]
Trading surge boosts JP Morgan but Citigroup’s profit suffers October 13, 2020 JP Morgan’s third-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations as trading revenue was lifted by a recovery in global markets despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Its Wall Street rival Citigroup fared less well, however, with profit slipping 34 per cent despite credit costs stabilising. JP Morgan’s net income rose to $9.44bn (£7.25bn) from $9.1bn a year earlier. [...]
The answer to Britain’s housing crisis is more houses – not risky mortgages October 11, 2020 Housing experts were left scratching their heads this week after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his flagship policy to get young people on the housing ladder: bigger mortgages. Johnson plans to turn “generation rent” into “generation buy” by offering long-term, fixed-rate mortgages of up to 95 per cent of the value of the home. He [...]
Bank of England’s use of fast data under fire after weak GDP figures October 9, 2020 The Bank of England’s “reliance” on fast payments data that fed into upbeat predictions has come under fire after figures showed the UK economy performed much worse than expected in August. The Bank has repeatedly referred to data from its Chaps payment system, which reflects sales companies make through card purchases, during the coronavirus pandemic. [...]
Almost a fifth of ALL US dollars were created this year October 8, 2020 About 20 per cent of all US dollars were created this year. The Federal Reserve has printed unprecedented amounts of money to support the coronavirus-stricken economy. It has sparked debates about inflation and helped asset prices soar. Data from the Fed shows that a broad measure of the stock of dollars, known as M2, rose [...]
FTSE 100 flat after Donald Trump ends US stimulus talks October 7, 2020 The FTSE 100 flatlined after US President Donald Trump abruptly ended talks between Republicans and Democrats over the next round of fiscal stimulus. London’s blue-chip index was just 0.06 per cent higher at 5,953.6 points as it approached midday. The FTSE 250 was up 0.17 per cent. Read more: US stocks fall after President Trump [...]
Barclays teams up with rugby ref Nigel Owens to launch £250m agri-tech fund October 7, 2020 Barclays has teamed up with world-renowned rugby referee Nigel Owens to launch a £250m fund to help farmers make their businesses carbon neutral. The new funding comes as research showed that 83 per cent of UK farmers said they could achieve net zero by 2035, five years before the deadline set by the farming union. [...]
Fed’s Jay Powell: Too much stimulus is better than too little October 6, 2020 It is better for US policymakers to do too much to try to help the economy than to do too little, US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said in some of his most pointed comments about stimulus to date. Powell told the National Association for Business Economics that the recovery from the coronavirus lockdowns of [...]
Boris Johnson ‘will not hesitate’ to impose further coronavirus restrictions September 30, 2020 Boris Johnson has warned the nation that he “will not hesitate” to impose harsher coronavirus restrictions as cases rapidly rise in England. Johnson said at a press conference today that it was too early to know whether the recently taken measures – including a country-wide ban on meeting more than six people – had yielded [...]