World Trade Organization: Global trade to drop ‘precipitously’ May 20, 2020 The World Trade Organization (WTO) has said international trade is set to drop “precipitously” in the first half of 2020 as coronavirus wreaks havoc on global supply chains and consumer demand. The WTO’s gauge of the health of global trade fell to 87.6, its lowest reading since the goods trade barometer was launched in 2016. [...]
Eurozone inflation hits four-year low as coronavirus batters demand May 20, 2020 The Eurozone inflation rate plunged to 0.3 per cent in April, official figures have shown, as coronavirus lockdowns caused energy prices to tumble and demand for goods and services to evaporate. Annual Eurozone price inflation of 0.3 per cent was the lowest in four years. It was down from 0.7 per cent in March and [...]
UK inflation rate plunges to lowest level since 2016 amid coronavirus May 20, 2020 The UK inflation rate tumbled from 1.5 per cent in March to 0.8 per cent in April as coronavirus pushed Britain into lockdown, according to data out today. Collapsing oil prices contributed to the plunge in the consumer prices index (CPI) that determines the inflation rate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It fell [...]
Coronavirus: Over half of UK firms cannot reopen fully, survey shows May 20, 2020 Almost 50 per cent of UK firms are only ready to partially reopen their businesses as the government lifts the coronavirus lockdown, a survey has shown, with one in 10 saying they cannot restart at all due to Covid guidelines. The survey, from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), also showed that 85 per cent [...]
Rishi Sunak warns swift economic recovery ‘not obvious’ May 19, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has poured cold water on hopes that the UK economy will make a rapid recovery from the sharp economic downturn caused by Covid-19. Speaking in front of the Lords economic committee today, Sunak warned it was “not obvious that there will be an immediate bounce back”. “It takes time to get back [...]
German finance minister: €500bn Recovery fund will help Europe exit crisis May 19, 2020 Germany’s finance minister has said the proposed €500bn (£450bn) European recovery fund will help EU member states “grow out of the crisis together”. Olaf Scholz’s statement came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime Minister Emannuel Macron yesterday jointly suggested a €500bn fund in what was seen as a potential breakthrough for the bloc. [...]
Bank of England to name recipients of coronavirus loans May 19, 2020 The Bank of England has said it will start naming the companies that use its coronavirus lending facility in a bid to increase transparency about which firms are being bailed out. Firms using the Bank’s covid corporate financing facility (CCFF) will also be expected to start “showing restraint” on dividend payments, share buy-backs and senior [...]
UK jobless claims soar by a record 856,000 to 2.1m in April May 19, 2020 UK jobless claims soared 69.1 per cent – or by 856,000 – to 2.1m in April, unemployment data showed today to illustrate the staggering impact of coronavirus on the economy. And the UK unemployment number increased by 50,000 to 1.35m as lockdown started in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS [...]
Traders bet on Bank of England launching negative interest rates May 18, 2020 Traders are betting that the Bank of England introduces negative interest rates for the first time ever, pushing the pound to a three-week low today. Interest rate futures contracts from December dipped into negative territory today as the money markets speculated that British interest rates would fall below zero in the coming months. Comments by [...]
UK households gloomy about finances as coronavirus crisis hits home May 18, 2020 UK households were slightly more positive about their finances in May than in April, but the month still ranked as one of the most pessimistic since 2009. IHS Markit’s UK household finance index (HFI) – which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing – recorded 37.8 in May, up slightly from April’s eight-and-a-half year low [...]
