Daniel Hannan: Slash taxes and ramp up spending to boost economy May 28, 2020 Influential free-marketeer Daniel Hannan has told City A.M.’s The City View podcast that the government should both cut taxes and increase spending to help Britain recover from the coronavirus crash. The former Tory MEP also said Britain should be exiting its lockdown much quicker, given that other European states are doing so without suffering a [...]
Two-fifths of UK SMEs at risk of permanent closure, survey finds May 28, 2020 The coronavirus crisis will cost the UK’s small and medium sized businesses an average of around £12,000, according to a survey which shows that two fifths of such firms are at risk of closing permanently. A poll of 3,700 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by business insurer Simply Business showed that firms reckon the cost [...]
FCA warns banks and brokers over risks of home working May 27, 2020 The financial services watchdog today warned that banks and brokerages are facing increased risks around the handling of sensitive information due to the rise of home working as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In its weekly bulletin, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that “working from home arrangements may raise new, additional risks around [...]
Trading the covid commodities contango May 26, 2020 In the last 12 years, the oil market has thrice collapsed and twice recovered. But this latest downturn, driven by a covid-tainted drop in demand and a Russo-Saudi price war, has analysts scratching their heads. Can the market rebound from this? The price of US oil turned negative for the first time in history last [...]
UK will ask employers ‘to pay 20-30 per cent’ of furlough wages May 23, 2020 The UK has drawn up plans to require employers to cover 20 per cent to 30 per cent of furloughed employees’ wages from August, it is reported. That would help reduce the vast burden of the coronavirus crisis on government finances, The Times newspaper reported. The UK on May 12 extended its job retention scheme [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks slip on rising Hong Kong tensions May 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed in the red and US stocks fell as investors weighed up rising US-China tensions in the wake of Beijing’s move to assert its authority in Hong Kong. The UK’s blue-chip index fell around two per cent this morning but pared some of its losses throughout the day. It finished 0.3 per [...]
Government borrowing hits record £62bn in April over coronavirus measures May 22, 2020 UK government borrowing rose by a record £62.1bn in April alone as the government paid people’s wages and loaned businesses cash to survive the coronavirus lockdown, statistics showed today. Coronavirus measures like the job retention scheme to pay people’s wages and coronavirus loans for businesses pushed UK borrowing to the all-time high last month. The [...]
Mortgage payment holidays extended until October May 22, 2020 The financial watchdog has today extended payment holidays to support those struggling to pay their mortgage due to coronavirus. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said banks can extend the mortgage holidays for a further three months up to the end of October. It comes after chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the furlough scheme to October to [...]
Coronavirus measures force UK borrowing up £62bn in April May 22, 2020 UK borrowing rose by £62.1bn in April alone as the government paid people’s wages and loaned businesses cash to survive the coronavirus lockdown, statistics showed today. Coronavirus measures like the job retention scheme to pay people’s wages, and coronavirus loans for businesses of all sizes, pushed UK borrowing to an all-time high last month. The [...]
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 [...]