BoA: Bank of England to cut interest rates to zero in November August 4, 2020 The BoE is likely to pursue a package of interest rate cuts and quantitative easing in November amid the pandemic and threat of a no-deal Brexit, according to the Bank of America. The Bank will reduce the rate to zero and could go negative if necessary, Bank of America economists predicted in a report today. [...]
Argentina strikes deal with creditors over $65bn debt in major breakthrough August 4, 2020 Argentina has reached a deal with its largest creditors to restructure $65bn (£50bn) in defaulted sovereign debt, in a major step forward in long-running talks. The South American country’s government hailed the breakthrough, saying in a statement that it will “grant Argentina significant debt relief”. Argentina’s economy has been battered in recent years by high [...]
Government-backed coronavirus lending tops £50bn August 4, 2020 Banks have now lent £50.7bn to companies through the various government-backed coronavirus loan schemes, official figures showed today. By far the biggest programme is the bounce back loans scheme (BBLS), which had seen banks lend out £34.34 to small businesses as of yesterday, the Treasury said. It comes with a 100 per cent government guarantee [...]
Working from home costs London hospitality sector £2.3bn, economists say August 3, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has caused £2.3bn of spending to be lost or displaced in shops, pubs and cafes near London employment hubs, according to new analysis by a think tank. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) also estimated that the capital will lose out on roughly £178m a month of spending compared to [...]
UK manufacturing output grows at quickest pace since 2017 August 3, 2020 UK manufacturing output grew at its fastest rate in almost three years in July as the sector continued to grow after it was all but shut down due to coronavirus in April, according to survey data. The IHS Markit/Cips UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a gauge of the health of the sector – [...]
Eurozone manufacturing sector returns to growth but worries remain August 3, 2020 The Eurozone manufacturing sector performed better than expected as it returned to growth in July as the currency bloc continued to recover from the spring’s coronavirus crash, survey data showed today. The IHS Markit Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 51.8 in July from 47.4 in June. It was above a flash estimate [...]
Eurozone economy shrinks by record 12 per cent as pandemic bites July 31, 2020 The Eurozone economy contracted by a record 12.1 per cent in the second quarter of the year as coronavirus lockdowns caused business activity to shudder to a halt and consumer spending to dry up. It followed a 3.6 per cent contraction in the first quarter, confirming that the single-currency area is in by far the [...]
US economy shrinks by record 33 per cent amid coronavirus pandemic July 30, 2020 The US economy suffered its biggest crash on record in the second quarter as coronavirus ripped through the country, with GDP plunging at an annualised rate of 32.9 per cent according to an advance estimate. The drop in output – which came after a fall of five per cent in the first quarter – was [...]
German economy shrinks at record rate as coronavirus bites July 30, 2020 The German economy contracted at a record rate in the second quarter of the year as the coronavirus pandemic sent the country into lockdown. German GDP fell by 10.1 per cent quarter on quarter after shrinking two per cent in the first three months of the year. It was the biggest drop since records began [...]
UK mortgage approvals beat expectations as housing market reopens July 29, 2020 UK mortgage approvals beat expectations and rocketed in June as the housing market reopened from the coronavirus lockdown, the latest figures have shown. The number of mortgages approved by UK banks rose to 40,000 in June after May’s record crash to just 9,300, the Bank of England said today. Analysts had predicted a rise to [...]
