Vacancies drop as three tier system comes into place October 19, 2020 Job vacancies fell in the first full week of October, according to new data that paints a worrying picture about the economy’s direction of travel this winter. Employment openings fell six per cent week on week in the seven days that ended on 11 October, data from the job board network Broadbean Technology showed. According [...]
New US jobless claims unexpectedly rise as election approaches October 15, 2020 The number of Americans making a new claim for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week as the economic recovery stuttered, posing a problem for Donald Trump with just weeks until the presidential election. New US jobless claims came in at 898,000 in the week that ended on 9 October, the Department of Labor said today. [...]
Banks not ready for negative interest rates, says Natwest chairman October 15, 2020 British banks are not ready to implement negative interest rates, the chairman of Natwest said today. “We’re not completely ready for it,” Howard Davies said during an interview. “There would be technical issues and many contractual issues.” The chairman said he was not in favour of negative rates being introduced, telling Bloomberg Radio there was [...]
Nine per cent of employees on furlough as scheme nears end October 15, 2020 Just over nine per cent of Britain’s workforce remain on furlough with less than a month to go before the scheme is replaced by less generous job support measures, a survey showed. Some 9.1 per cent of workers were furloughed during the two weeks to 4 October, according to a survey of businesses by the [...]
Mayfair hedge fund takes £140m stake in British Airways owner October 15, 2020 One of the UK’s largest hedge funds has taken out a large position in embattled British Airways owner IAG amid the worst crisis in aviation history. £35bn Marshall Wace today disclosed a three per cent stake in the airlines group, making it one of IAG’s largest stockholders. The Mayfair-based fund has previously taken out short [...]
OECD: UK should focus on unemployed until recovery established October 14, 2020 The UK should do more to help those who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and wait to fix the hole in its public finances until the recovery is underway, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said. The UK’s economy is at “a critical juncture”, the organisation warned in an annual [...]
Think tanks warn Sunak not to hurt UK’s ‘tax competitiveness’ October 14, 2020 Free-market think tanks have warned the government not to raise taxes on companies and dividends to try to mend the hole in the public finances, arguing that it would be an act of “self-sabotage”. The UK budget deficit is set to hit £350bn this year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said yesterday. [...]
Heavy-handed Westminster diktats have eroded trust — now only localised Covid policy can restore it October 14, 2020 Last month, the official group of scientific advisers — SAGE — warned the government that only a quarter of those who need to self-isolate due to coronavirus symptoms were in fact doing so. This illustrates a concept which is of great practical importance: namely the conflict between individual and collective rationality. Consider Margaret Ferrier, an [...]
Rishi Sunak to urge debt relief for weaker global economies October 14, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today urge global governments to ease the debt burden on the poorest countries affected by coronavirus as he meets leaders to discuss cooperation. Sunak will discuss a global action plan for the months ahead with G20 counterparts today. He will then join an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not there yet’ on negative interest rates October 13, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE is not yet in a position to decide whether it should cut interest rates in negative territory, as there is more work to be done on what effects they might have. It comes after the Bank sent a letter to lenders yesterday asking them about [...]
