Time for the UK to recognise the prospect of an independent Scotland July 20, 2020 The debate on Scotland’s future is changing. Opinion polls have begun showing majority support for independence. The two most recent polls have put the “Yes” vote at 54 per cent, nearly a full inversion of the 2014 referendum result. Brexit has been the main driver of this shift. The Scottish electorate consistently rejected leaving the [...]
Coronavirus: EU leaders struggle to make progress on €750bn fund plan July 19, 2020 EU leaders are still trying to reach an agreement on a proposed €750bn (£680bn) coronavirus emergency fund, with the acrimonious talks yielding little on the first two days of the Brussels summit. Talks are deadlocked on the summit’s third day, with the more fiscally conservative EU countries – such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and [...]
Andrew Bailey says an uneven economic recovery has begun July 17, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the UK economy is starting to recover from April’s lockdown, although he stressed that the rebound had been uneven so far. Bailey said activity was resuming “quite strongly” in the housing and car markets. But he said the hospitality and entertainment sectors were still struggling. His comments [...]
Boris Johnson: Social distancing may end in November July 17, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said social distancing could be scrapped by November as the government tries to move the country back to “significant normality” before Christmas. “It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at [...]
Angela Merkel lowers hopes as talks start over €750bn EU Covid fund July 17, 2020 European Union leaders face “very, very difficult” negotiations over a €750bn coronavirus bailout fund, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned ahead of the start of talks today. EU heads of state today go into the first in-person leaders’ meeting for five-months to try to thrash out a deal over a huge fund that could kickstart [...]
US retail sales increase as jobless claims hit 1.3m in June July 16, 2020 US retail sales increased more than expected in June, data showed today, but a sustained high level of jobless claims and fresh infections threatened the budding economic recovery. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales rose 7.5 per cent last month. That was on top of the 18.2 per cent jump in May, which was the biggest gain since [...]
UK unemployment: 650,000 Brits lose jobs in lockdown July 16, 2020 Around 650,000 people lost their jobs between March and June, official figures showed today, as the UK labour market “weakened markedly” during lockdown. Job losses led to a 0.3 per cent drop in total pay in May compared to a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That is a 1.3 per cent [...]
Government must tackle £35bn corporate debt crisis, warn City bosses July 16, 2020 The government must take urgent action to prevent a wave of defaults on £35bn of corporate debt taken on during coronavirus wreaking havoc in the economy, a new report backed by some of the City’s biggest names has said. Policymakers should create a “UK Recovery Corporation” to turn risky debts into more manageable forms like [...]
Knowing V, Knowing U: The shape of the recession July 15, 2020 On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics released data on UK GDP for the month of May. It showed that the economy had recovered by just 1.8 per cent in May, following a sharp contraction of 20.4 per cent in April. Many commentators and economists voiced their disappointment at these figures, and ruled out the [...]
‘Incomplete’ V-shaped economic recovery likely, says Bank policymaker July 15, 2020 The UK economy is likely to go through an “interrupted or incomplete” V-shaped recovery as unemployment and social distancing weigh on growth, a Bank of England rate-setter has said. BoE monetary policy committee (MPC) member Silvana Tenreyro said the UK economy’s recovery will depend on coronavirus cases being brought under control domestically and around the [...]
