US stocks hit all-time high but FTSE 100 lags November 27, 2020 US stock markets hit fresh all-time highs despite the thin post-thanksgiving trading, while the FTSE 100 lagged behind amid worries about Brexit and the economy. Wall Street’s S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent in the early part of the session. The Dow Jones climbed 0.2 per cent while the Nasdaq jumped 0.9 per cent. All [...]
Six ways to reduce job search stress this winter November 27, 2020 The pandemic, rising unemployment levels, a teetering economy and the current lockdown across England — all this has created the perfect storm for stress levels. The spring and summer months saw sharp increases in the proportion of people struggling with stress, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. In fact, nearly half (49.6 [...]
FTSE 100 declines after Tier 2 announcements and dismal economic data from Sunak November 26, 2020 The FTSE 100 slipped as investors digested the dire economic outlook offered by chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday and the new Tier 2 restrictions for London, putting an end to the recent vaccine-driven rally. London’s main stock index fell 0.46 per cent, taking it down to 6,361 points. It followed a fall of around 0.6 per [...]
Coronavirus set to be ‘way less’ damaging than 2008 crash: IFS November 26, 2020 The hit to the UK economy from the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be “way less” than the impact of the financial crisis should the budget watchdog’s predictions come true, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has said. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) yesterday said the economy would likely end up three [...]
NHS Test and Trace missed almost 140,000 Covid contacts last week November 26, 2020 England’s beleaguered Test and Trace system failed to reach 40 per cent of people who came into contact with coronavirus last week, meaning almost 140,000 people required to self-isolate did not do so. Figures released today by the Department for Health and Social Care showed that NHS Test and Trace only managed to tell 60.3 [...]
London Tier 2: City leaders breathe ‘sigh of relief’ but push for return to the office November 26, 2020 City leaders have welcomed the announcement that London will be placed into Tier 2 when lockdown lifts, but warned that the capital will only fully recover when the government outlines a clear policy on returning to work. Health secretary Matt Hancock today said London will join regions such as Liverpool and Suffolk on “high” alert [...]
Labour hits out at £2bn ‘bombshell’ council tax rise November 26, 2020 Labour has hit out at Rishi Sunak for hiking council tax in yesterday’s spending review, claiming it was hidden in the text. The chancellor’s spending review yesterday gave all local authorities the power to increase council tax bills by two per cent without holding a referendum. Local authorities that manage social care institutions are able [...]
Covid crisis could slash wages by ‘£1,200 a year’ by 2025 November 26, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will prolong Britain’s 15-year squeeze on household incomes and cut pay by £1,200 a year by 2025, according to a major think tank. In a stark report released today, the Resolution Foundation warned that despite politicians proclaiming an end to austerity, “its legacy will continue for many public services” throughout the course [...]
BoE boss says Rishi Sunak right to spend big on Covid November 26, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey backed chancellor Rishi Sunak’s approach to the public finances, saying he is right to throw the might of the state behind the coronavirus suppression effort. “It is absolutely sensible that public resources, resources of the state, are being used to cushion the huge impact of this absolutely unprecedented shock,” [...]
Saving the nation from a crisis November 26, 2020 In the late 1970s when I was taught economics as an undergraduate, we were told that savings equalled investment (S = I). Of course, there were caveats, mainly that we were dealing with a closed economic system without international trade and finance — in other words, not an economy which actually exists in the real [...]