Markets live: Wall Street falters and FTSE 100 sinks as US jobless claims fall August 13, 2020 Wall Street faltered and the FTSE 100 finished lower today as bullish sentiment faded and traders turned their attention to US jobless data. The blue-chip index closed down 1.30 per cent to 6,198 points, reversing gains earlier in the week that saw it smash through the 6,200 mark. Rally runs out The hesitant start marks [...]
City calls for deeper tax relief as UK sinks into recession August 12, 2020 Business groups have called on the government to take “bold action” after the UK economy plunged into recession last quarter as GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent between April and June, the biggest single quarter decline on record. With vast swathes of the economy closed due to the coronavirus lockdowns, activity flatlined in April, before [...]
Gold price bounces back after steep sell-off August 12, 2020 The price of gold rebounded this afternoon to £1,485 an ounce after its steepest sell-off in seven years. Spot gold rebounded today after its steepest decline in seven years on Tuesday, with the price rising from a low of £1,438.65 during a turbulent Asian trading session to just shy of £1,486 at the time of [...]
Parties lead Germany to biggest spike in coronavirus cases in three months August 12, 2020 Germany today reported its largest daily spike in new cases of coronavirus in more than three months, as authorities blamed people returning from holiday and boozy parties across the country. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 1,226 to 218,519 today, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed — marking the [...]
Rishi Sunak says ‘hard times are here’ as UK plunges into worst recession on record August 12, 2020 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today warned that “hard times are here” after the UK’s GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent in the last three months, plunging it into the worst recession on record. Speaking to Sky News, Sunak warned that “many more people” would lose their jobs as a result of the recession, [...]
Second wave fears: Rishi Sunak could delay autumn Budget August 12, 2020 Finance minister Rishi Sunak is weighing options to shelve his autumn Budget if the UK suffers a big second wave of the coronavirus, it is reported. While Sunak expects to deliver his Budget as planned, it is a sign of government anxiety over a possible autumn coronavirus spike that he is ready to delay big [...]
Two-in-five businesses expect to cut jobs in the next six months August 12, 2020 Two-in-five finance chiefs at UK businesses expect to cut jobs in the next six months as a result of the coronavirus slowdown. The survey of 800 senior finance executives at UK companies also found one third had already cut jobs since the start of lockdown and 54 per cent said their organisation had furloughed staff. [...]
In love with Amazon? It’s just a marriage of convenience August 11, 2020 And just becauseI call you upDon’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it madeI’m not in love, no no, it’s because…. I’m sure you recognise those lyrics from the 1975 hit “I’m Not In Love” by 10cc — which was precisely 20 years before Amazon was launched onto an unsuspecting world. If only we’d [...]
UK economy: Britain braced for GDP and jobs hit August 10, 2020 The full extent of the Covid-19 crisis on the UK economy is set to be laid bare this week with the release of two key reports. While economists have been at odds over the speed of the country’s recovery from the pandemic, this week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are likely to [...]
Rishi Sunak faces pressure to extend furlough scheme August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure to extend the furlough scheme in some form, amid fears of a wave of unemployment later in the year. Opposition political parties and business groups are increasingly worried that plans to wind down the furlough scheme in October are premature. The Bank of England yesterday said 2.5m people [...]