U.N chief to push G20 to further expand debt service suspension November 12, 2020 United Nations secretary-general António Guterres will push G20 leaders to expand debt service suspension to help developing and middle-income economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing a virtual annual ministerial meeting attended by the Group of 77 – a collection of 134 developing countries – plus China, Guterres said: “Many developing countries are suffering from [...]
ECB turns to emergency bonds and ultra-cheap loans to control financial costs November 12, 2020 The ECB will use its emergency bond-buying and ultra-cheap loans to banks as the primary instruments to control financing costs, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde told the ECB’s annual forum on central banking this evening. The EU heavyweight said financing costs for governments, households and businesses in the eurozone will stay “exceptionally favourable” until [...]
US jobless claims fall to seven-month low but pace of decline slows November 12, 2020 The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a seven-month low last week, official figures showed, but the rate of decline in jobless claims slowed. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits hit a seasonally adjusted total of 709,000 for the week to 7 November, the US Department of Labor said. This [...]
Disappointing GDP figures show UK recovery lost momentum ahead of second lockdown November 12, 2020 UK GDP grew by a record quarterly amount in the three months to September, but failed to make up for its historic slump the previous quarter as Covid-19 brought large swathes of the economy to a halt. The UK economy grew by a record 15.5 per cent in the third quarter, the Office for National [...]
Brexit news could change outcome of BoE’s December meeting, says Bailey November 12, 2020 Developments in the ongoing trade talks between the UK and EU could affect the chance of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) taking action at its December meeting, governor Andrew Bailey said. Asked if Brexit developments could make the MPC’s next meeting “live”, Bailey said: “I’m sure we will have more information, so [...]
Government advisory body tells Rishi Sunak to hike capital gains tax November 11, 2020 Rishi Sunak should double capital gains tax rates in order to reel in an extra £14bn, according to the government’s tax advisory body. The Office for Tax Simplification today released its findings on a review ordered by Sunak, telling the chancellor he should increase the rate of capital gains tax and slash exemptions to take [...]
ECB to focus on bond buying and bank liquidity to keep eurozone afloat, says Lagarde November 11, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) will focus on emergency bond purchases and cheap loans for banks when it puts together its new stimulus package for the coronavirus-hit eurozone economy, president Christine Lagarde said. Lagarde told the ECB’s annual central banking conference that inflation in the eurozone was now likely to remain negative for longer than [...]
‘Positive evidence’ on negative interest rates, says BoE policymaker Tenreyro November 11, 2020 Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said there was “positive evidence” that negative interest rates could help banks and the wider economy amid the downturn caused by Covid-19. “The positive evidence related to negative interest rate policy comes from Europe, where it has worked fairly well,” Tenreyro said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post. [...]
The public are not to blame for the second lockdown November 11, 2020 Justice secretary Robert Buckland last week blamed the public for England’s new lockdown. In particular, the fault was with people failing to self-isolate properly. Of course, in a purely technical sense Buckland is right. The virus spreads by contact with an infected person. If people do not self-isolate, Covid-19 will continue to percolate across the [...]
Andy Haldane: Gap between poor and rich to be ‘stretched’ in wake of pandemic November 10, 2020 The Covid-19 crisis will likely “stretch” the income gap between the rich and poor, according to Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane. Speaking in a Channel 4 interview, Haldane, who is a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and chair of the government’s Industrial Strategy Council, said the pandemic would likely lead to [...]
