Empowering communities with alternative currencies towards a post-Covid economy June 9, 2020 With humanitarian operations becoming more frequent, global and protracted, stakeholders are going to need to find alternative, multi-year pools of funding as well as new financial mechanisms to increase effectiveness and efficiency of existing resources. There was a time when humanitarian organisations only focused on short-term emergencies while development organisations focused only on long-term socioeconomic [...]
US jobless claims pass 40m as economy staggers under coronavirus May 28, 2020 A further 2.1m people in the US filed for unemployment claims last week, bringing the total to more than 40m since mid-March. Overall, 40.7m people have applied for unemployment benefits in the last 10 weeks, a quarter of the American workforce, according to new data from the US labor department. Although the new total represents [...]
Inflation post Covid-19: to be or not to be? May 26, 2020 We spoke to two experts who argued the case for and against inflation in the near future and what it means for investments. Abdallah Guezour, Head of Emerging Market Debt and Commodities, and Keith Wade, Chief Economist, discuss the outlook for inflation in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. Abdallah argues the case for inflation [...]
Balance sheet erosion and impact on share prices May 26, 2020 As the virus has grown, so balance sheets have shrunk. In this global health crisis, it is not just people who are ill. Against conditions already uncertain with a trade war and Brexit, this crisis has shaken the bones of the stock market, exposing fragile finances at more than a few firms. Some zombies, unable [...]
What are negative interest rates and will the UK turn to them? May 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey this week said he has changed his mind on negative interest rates, saying the BoE is keeping them under “active review”. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made clear that he is a fan of negative rates, and wants the US to have them as it deals with the coronavirus [...]
Which south London pubs are serving pints this weekend? A non-exhaustive list May 22, 2020 The pint. The perfect measure; not too big, not too small. And now available in takeaway milk cartons in a host of pubs across south London. Here’s City A.M.’s very much non-exhaustive list of pubs south of the river that will allow you to have something cold, fizzy and poured by somebody else over this [...]
US sees 2.4m new jobless claims as total nears 40m amid coronavirus May 21, 2020 More than 2.4m Americans made new jobless claims last week, data has shown, as the world’s largest economy continues to shed jobs at a momentous pace during the coronavirus crisis. The latest figure means that roughly 39m new claims for unemployment insurance have been made in the US since March 21. Unemployment has soared to [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 rises as recovery hopes boost global stocks May 20, 2020 The UK’s FTSE 100 has closed higher after a choppy day of trading as hopes of a recovery from the coronavirus downturn offset dire economic data and doubts about a new vaccine. The blue-chip index rose 1.08 per cent to 6,067 points, aided by a surge in data firm Experian, which posted strong results. European [...]
Understanding what’s driving market reactions is vital May 20, 2020 Our lack of understanding of the coronavirus has added to the challenges confronting politicians and policy makers in recent months, and this in turn has fed the uncertainty impacting financial markets. There are six broad areas influencing markets: the virus itself; the economic picture; the corporate outlook; policy; second-round effects; and lessons from the past. [...]
Bitcoin Halving sees Miners echo Satoshi Nakomoto May 19, 2020 Last week Bitcoin (BTC) began trading around the $8,600 mark following the Bitcoin Halving on Monday evening, before seeing a substantial surge upwards throughout the week to once again test the important $10,000 level. BTC is trading at the time of writing at $9,757. Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, began the week [...]