Growing European Coronavirus fears April 3, 2020 Sterling and the Euro – a story of two halves. The pound had another resilient week, strengthening by an average of 1.9% against the other major currencies. This is despite the downgrade of Britain’s credit rating by Fitch. The pound’s strength can be attributed to the US Federal Reserve announcing billions of liquidity to stabilise [...]
Now introducing the O-Shaped Lawyer March 30, 2020 An old academic’s joke goes: if you have a complete blank on a historical era, just say it saw “a period of social upheaval and the emergence of a new middle class” — which is always true. A parallel truism could be used of professional services: you can always claim that the focus should shift [...]
How are the central banks battling coronavirus? March 27, 2020 As countries ramp up efforts to control the pandemic, the economic impact of Covid-19 is having an impact on currency values As the reality of the pandemic begins to bite, it’s clear that normal rules no longer apply. Economies across the world are plummeting and governments are scrambling to protect as much as they can [...]
Coronavirus: US stocks shake off dire unemployment data March 26, 2020 US stocks shook off awful unemployment data this afternoon to climb higher as traders pinned their hopes on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package. The Nasdaq rose 3.5 per cent by 4.30pm, while the Dow Jones climbed a whopping 4.9 per cent. The S&P 500 posted a large rise of 4.3 per cent. Yesterday the [...]
Coronavirus: FTSE 100 falls ahead of US unemployment figures March 26, 2020 The FTSE 100 has fallen in early trading after two consecutive days of gains as investors await what is set to be dire US jobs data and an interest rate decision by the Bank of England. Britain’s main stock index was down 2.8 per cent at 5,530 points. It had climbed five per cent yesterday [...]
What’s happening to the AUD/GBP exchange rate? March 25, 2020 A quick look at the performance of the Australian dollar in the FX market during the global pandemic The Australian dollar has been under pressure all year; as a commodity-based currency, it was among the first to struggle due to the impact of the coronavirus. Now, as the countries implement various forms of lock-down and [...]
Trump and Congress reach deal on $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus March 25, 2020 US senators and Trump administration officials have reached an agreement on a massive economic stimulus bill to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the negotiators said today. The Senate will vote on the $2 trillion (£1.69 trillion) package later in the day and the House of Representatives is expected to follow suit soon [...]
Oil prices knock UK inflation rate down to 1.7 per cent in February March 25, 2020 UK inflation slipped 0.1 per cent in February to 1.7 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today, as oil prices sank. Falling oil prices helped push the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) UK inflation rate down from 1.8 per cent in January, amid the ongoing coronavirus travel restrictions. Read more: Oil prices stage [...]
US stocks jump on hopes of coronavirus stimulus package March 24, 2020 US stocks soared this evening on hopes that congress was close to agreeing a $2 trillion stimulus package to protect the economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Wall Street’s S&P 500 index closed 9.3 per cent higher today, while the Dow Jones industrial average soared 11.37 per cent – its biggest one day [...]
Oil prices stage brief rise thanks to Fed coronavirus action March 24, 2020 Oil prices rallied today after a torrid day yesterday. Brent crude was up to almost $28 a barrel and WTI crude futures is at $23, a four per cent rise on yesterday. This has been attributed to pledge from the Federal Banking Reserve to dramatically increase support for US business, although the US Senate could [...]