UK bond yields hit all-time low on coronavirus fears March 4, 2020 UK government bond yields have fallen to an all-time low after the economic threat of coronavirus led the US Federal Reserve to slash interest rates, a move traders increasingly think the Bank of England will copy. The yield on the 10-year UK Gilt touched 0.335 per cent this morning as investors rushed to buy one [...]
FTSE 100 rises as investors weigh coronavirus stimulus measures March 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose for a third consecutive day this morning, as traders in London weighed up the economic impact of coronavirus and digested news of yesterday’s emergency rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The blue-chip index got off to a jittery start, opening slightly higher before dropping into the red, but then recovered [...]
Coronavirus: Two more cases confirmed in Scotland as UK total hits 53 March 4, 2020 Two more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Scotland, the country’s health secretary Jeane Freeman has said, bringing the UK’s total number of cases to 53. Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Freeman said the total number of cases in Scotland was now three. She added that she could not confirm whether [...]
Asian stocks mixed after Fed rate cut fails to lift Wall Street March 4, 2020 Asian stocks posted a mixed day of trading overnight after Wall Street dropped in dramatic fashion despite an interest rate cut intended to give the economy a break from the coronavirus fallout. Japan’s Nikkei eked out a 0.08 per cent rise today but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.12 per cent over the course [...]
The world’s biggest economy is scared March 4, 2020 The final weeks of 2019 saw the traditional flurry of analysts and market commentators raising the prospect of so-called black swan events in 2020. Looking back through these notes today, one is confronted with a range of nightmare scenarios ranging from military conflict in the South China Sea to the collapse of a major investment bank [...]
World Bank announces up to $12bn in immediate funds to help fight coronavirus March 3, 2020 The World Bank is to release up to $12bn (£9.3bn) immediately to fight the global spread of coronavirus. The funding emerged on the same day the Federal Banking Reserve cut interest rates to protect the US economy from the economic consequences of the outbreak. Traditionally, the role of the World Bank is to lend money [...]
Federal Reserve slashes interest rates over coronavirus fears March 3, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates by 50 basis points – 0.5 percentage points – in an emergency response to the economic risks of coronavirus. Fed chair Jay Powell said rate-setters had witnessed the “broader spread of the virus” and “come to the view that it is time for us to act in [...]
Coronavirus: Stocks rise as traders expect US Federal Reserve rate cut March 2, 2020 Global stock markets have risen on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will slash interest rates to support the economy and boost confidence amid the coronavirus outbreak. A volatile morning saw Wall Street open higher before slipping into the red and then rebounding. The US’s S&P 500 stood 2.2 per cent higher two hours into [...]
Coronavirus live: OECD warning weighs down FTSE 100 recovery March 2, 2020 The OECD’s warning that the coronavirus outbreak could halve global growth in 2020 weighed down the FTSE 100 today, sending it back into the red before recovering marginally. Traders had initially sent London’s blue-chip index up 2.7 per cent this morning on the back of central banks saying they were ready to intervene to protest [...]
Could coronavirus push global stock markets into bear territory? March 1, 2020 After coronavirus fears sent US and UK stocks to their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, some analysts are raising the prospect that equities could fall into bear market territory – a fall of 20 per cent from recent highs. The US’s S&P 500 index has slumped 13 per cent since it hit a [...]