Treasury urged to focus on job creation amid UK ‘unemployment crisis’ December 14, 2020 The government has been urged to take a more active approach to job creation and keep public spending high to avoid “sleepwalking into an unemployment crisis” next year. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said the Treasury should move away from wage subsidies and instead fund jobs in places they are needed such as [...]
Green bonds: ESG, sustainable or impact investments? December 11, 2020 | City Talk In this article, we provide an updated estimate for the green bond premium (“greenium”) in the Euro (EUR) market. We validate the common hypothesis that green bonds tend to trade a tighter spread (lower yield) than comparable “brown” bonds, and we offer some conclusions on green bond investors. The first green bond was issued in [...]
BRC: Businesses face £3bn ‘tariff bombshell’ on no-deal December 11, 2020 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that supermarkets and their customers face a £3.1bn ‘tariff bombshell’ if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal. The UK’s transition period will end in three weeks and with talks at an impasse, there is growing concern the UK will be left to trade on World [...]
ECB ramps up bond-buying programme by €500bn December 10, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) has ramped up its bond-buying programme by €500bn (£456bn) in an effort to limit the economic damage from rising coronavirus cases and new restrictions across the continent. ECB governor Christine Lagarde said the central bank expects the Eurozone economy to have contracted in the final quarter of the year. She [...]
Economic recovery slowed in October as UK GDP hit 0.4 per cent December 10, 2020 The UK’s economic recovery ground to a halt in October as lockdown restrictions tightened and the hospitality industry took a hit. GDP rose 0.4 per cent in October according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics, down from a 1.1 per cent growth in September. It is the sixth consecutive monthly increase in [...]
Pay no attention to the left-wing brigade, a Covid wealth tax would be a disaster December 10, 2020 It is incredible how, in the 12 years since the financial crisis, the position of so many organisations has changed. In 2008/9, think tanks like the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argued that the British day-to-day deficit required prudent reforms to public spending, while those on the left claimed that there wasn’t a problem and [...]
Reed chair’s fear of ‘tsunami of job losses’ turns to a bullish call rejecting a UK double-dip recession December 9, 2020 The founder and chairman of recruitment company and jobs giant Reed, James Reed has done a screeching U-turn on his outlook for the UK economy and jobs market.
Hurrah for a vaccine — but was lockdown actually worth it? December 9, 2020 The development of the vaccines has changed many things. It has even influenced the opinion of the Prince of Lockdown himself, health secretary Matt Hancock. Life, he pronounced at the weekend, would be back to normal by the spring and the “blasted regulations” abolished. But one thing has remained constant: the government’s continued refusal to [...]
Stricter regulation is actually a blessing December 8, 2020 | City Talk ‘Stay safe’ has become more than just a mantra these past six months. Governments have used the phrase to explain why restrictions to everyday life are needed. We read it on posters in the street and on shop doors. We even sign off our emails to friends and colleagues with it. Yet there is more [...]
UK hiring outlook weakest in Europe as Covid hits London jobs market December 8, 2020 UK companies are the most pessimistic in Europe about hiring in the first quarter of next year, according to a major survey, with London’s jobs outlook hitting its lowest level on record as the hospitality industry is battered by coronavirus. However, the overall jobs outlook for the UK for the first three months of next [...]
