What does life look like after coronavirus? March 20, 2020 Right now, the priority for all countries must be to confront the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic: ensuring access to healthcare, maintaining the flow of essential supplies, and managing the economic fall-out that risks seeing businesses and individuals devastated through no fault of their own. But historically, periods of national crisis have often been [...]
Coronavirus will ‘accelerate the digital revolution’, says ad mogul Martin Sorrell March 19, 2020 The outbreak of coronavirus will “accelerate the digital revolution” as businesses and consumers become increasingly reliant on technology, ad boss Sir Martin Sorrell has said. Sorrell, who runs ad fim S4 Capital, today said the “bottom line” of the crisis was that digital transformation would move at a much greater pace. “Businesses that were probably [...]
The Novelty of the Coronavirus: What it means for Markets March 18, 2020 Does market history offer any parallels to today’s novel coronavirus crisis? Market action in recent weeks has been reminiscent of the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007–2009, the crash of 1987, and, for those with a long memory, the crash of 1929, which wouldn’t have been so disastrous if it had not been followed by [...]
Noel Quinn made HSBC chief executive on permanent basis March 17, 2020 Banking giant HSBC has confirmed that interim chief executive Noel Quinn will take up the post permanently with immediate effect, bringing to an end a six-month external search. In August last year chairman Mark Tucker ousted chief executive John Flint over an alleged argument about how fast the bank should have been hitting its targets. [...]
The coronavirus crisis calls for a two-week stock market trading holiday March 17, 2020 Last week was marked by a series of trading halts as stock markets swung from “limit down” to “limit up,” and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst single-day loss since Black Monday in 1987. Uncertainty abounds, but one thing is for sure — no one knows what is going to happen next. It’s [...]
Coronavirus: Law and accountancy firms move to remote working in face of covid-19 pandemic March 16, 2020 A string of big legal and accountancy firms have triggered emergency remote working plans this week, sending thousands of workers home as the coronavirus crisis rages. Big Four audit firm Deloitte is asking all its UK staff to work from home tomorrow, while KPMG is allowing staff to work from home if they choose. Magic [...]
Coronavirus: Pandemic heaps uncertainty on house price growth March 16, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus outbreak has heaped uncertainty on London’s housing market, which had started to rally following the Conservative general election victory. The price of property coming to market in the capital surged 5.1 per cent year on year last month to an average of £638,826, the highest annual rate of growth since May 2016. [...]
London mayoral election delayed for one year over coronavirus March 13, 2020 The London mayoral election and all local and mayoral elections in England have been postponed for a year because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Electoral Commission yesterday called for local and mayoral UK elections to be delayed until the autumn to “mitigate” the spread of coronavirus. The London election was due to take place on [...]
Extinction Rebellion cancels London protest over coronavirus March 13, 2020 Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has cancelled its next London protest due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group, also known as XR, had scheduled a mass protest in London on 23 May to call for action on tackling the climate crisis. The planned date of the protest, which coincides with the start of the UK [...]
2020 Budget live: City reacts to Rishi Sunak’s spending plans March 11, 2020 Welcome to City A.M.’s 2020 Budget Day live blog. Please refresh your browser for live updates. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to address fears over the economic impact of coronavirus, and announce waves of new infrastructure spending and changes on taxation in his 2020 Budget. It comes after Bank of England governor Mark Carney earlier [...]