Weekly US jobless claims reach 884,000 as layoffs persist September 10, 2020 The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the US is continuing to rise, according to new data from the US Labor Department. Last week there were 884,000 initial claims, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Last week, the number of claims fell to the lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, although [...]
UK economy: Job adverts fall while retail footfall flatlines September 10, 2020 The UK’s economic recovery appeared to slow somewhat over the last few weeks, according to official data, with the number of online job adverts falling and retail footfall staying roughly flat. Britons gradually headed back to the office, however, with the number of people working remotely falling. In the week to 4 September, total online [...]
Exclusive: Bank of England spends £120,000 making HQ Covid-secure September 10, 2020 The Bank of England has been hugely busy during the coronavirus pandemic, pulling the levers of monetary policy in a desperate effort to support the economy. But it has also been working hard closer to home. It has spent at least £117,000 on making its historic Threadneedle Street headquarters as safe as possible during Covid [...]
Exclusive: London consumer spending soars during cheap meal scheme September 10, 2020 The Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave London restaurants a huge boost in August, with spending jumping to just 10 per cent below its 2019 level, according to the latest data provided exclusively to City PM Food and beverage spending in London in July was a whopping 39.1 per cent lower than a year [...]
Coronavirus insolvency measures must be extended, says IoD September 9, 2020 The Institute of Directors is calling for an urgent extension to emergency insolvency measures to prevent a swathe of job losses and company collapses. In June, the government introduced emergency legislation to suspend the threat of liability for “wrongful trading” until 30 September 2020. Before the measures were introduced, the board of directors had a [...]
British companies planned 300,000 redundancies in June and July September 8, 2020 UK employers planned more than 300,000 redundancies this summer as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the economy. Figures obtained by a BBC Freedom of Information request show 1,784 firms made plans to cut nearly 150,000 jobs in July, a near sevenfold increase on the year before. While in June, 1,888 employers [...]
German exports rise but stay below pre-Covid levels September 8, 2020 German exports jumped 4.7 per cent in July as the Eurozone economy’s gradual recovery continued, but trade remained far below its pre-crisis level. Imports grew by just 1.1 per cent, however, undershooting economists’ expectations of a rise of 3.3 per cent. Compared with a year earlier the figures were stark. Exports were down 11 per [...]
Exclusive: Merton leads London house prices higher as buyers seek space September 8, 2020 House prices in the south-western boroughs of Merton and Sutton rose at the fastest pace in London in the year to July as buyers looked for more space during the coronavirus pandemic, according to exclusive analysis by property website Zoopla for City PM Prices barely budged in the borough of Hillingdon on the western edge [...]
Brits ignore PM’s diet plea as spending on takeaways surges September 8, 2020 Worried about the nation’s weight, Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched an anti-obesity drive in July. But the latest spending data suggests Britons resoundingly ignored his advice. Spending on takeaways and fast food jumped 20.7 per cent year on year in August, according to Barclaycard data released today. That was the biggest rise since the measure [...]
Exclusive: BoE’s chief economist Andy Haldane warns against furlough extension September 7, 2020 The Bank of England’s chief economist has warned against extending the government’s job retention scheme, saying that such a move would prevent a “necessary process of adjustment” taking place. Amid growing calls from industry groups to keep the furlough scheme in place for certain sectors, Andy Haldane told the City PM podcast that the Coronavirus [...]
