UK economy: Is the Bank of England’s 2021 rebound scenario too optimistic? May 7, 2020 The Bank of England today said the UK economy could suffer its worst economic crash in 300 years this year as the coronavirus lockdown batters the economy. Yet it said it is likely to bounce back relatively quickly. Despite the dire report it stopped short of launching more bond-buying or “quantitative easing” (QE) and left [...]
Bank of England: UK economy could suffer biggest crash in 300 years May 7, 2020 The UK economy is likely to shrink by an enormous 14 per cent in 2020 in its worst crash in 300 years amid the coronavirus pandemic before rebounding strongly in 2021, the Bank of England has said as it kept interest rates on hold at their current record-low levels. The Bank said it expected the [...]
Government will extend furlough beyond June if needed, says minister May 7, 2020 The government is committed to extending the job retention scheme beyond the end of June if required to support workers currently on furlough, a minister said today. Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said the government would not end furlough abruptly at the end of June if it is clear employees will continue to need support. [...]
US private sector sees jobless claims spiral over 20m May 6, 2020 More than 20m US citizens were made redundant last month, a shocking jobless statistic showed today to underline the severe economic impact of coronavirus. Payroll processing body ADP today reported private sector employment plunged by 20,236,000 jobs between March and April. The jobless figures mean around 13 per cent of the 162m Americans employed in [...]
UK economy to shrink eight per cent this year amid coronavirus, says EU May 6, 2020 The UK economy will shrink by 8.3 per cent this year as Europe is ravaged by coronavirus and the lockdown measures put in place to contain it, the European Commission has predicted. Paolo Gentiloni, European commissioner for the economy, said: “Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent since the Great Depression.” In the UK, [...]
Eurozone economy crashes at fastest pace on record May 6, 2020 The Eurozone private sector suffered its worst month on record in April as coronavirus lockdown measures caused consumer demand to all but evaporate, survey data has confirmed. The closely watched IHS Markit composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) plunged to 13.5 in April from 29.7 in March, which was the previous record low. A score of [...]
The City View podcast, from City PM, with Adam Smith Institute director Eamonn Butler May 6, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by economist Eamonn Butler, co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Butler is an advocate of easing the lockdown and warns that the economic impact of the current restrictions will get worse (and harder to [...]
Norman Lamont: Britons not prepared for the economic hardship ‘around the corner’ May 6, 2020 Former chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has warned the government’s furlough scheme has made people complacent and unaware of the coming economic hardship. Lamont, chancellor under Conservative Prime Minister John Major, said the scheme had lulled “people into a false sense of security” and that many do not realise “their jobs have disappeared or are about [...]
Coronavirus: US services sector contracts for first time in over a decade May 5, 2020 The US services sector shrank for the first time in more than a decade in April, survey data has shown, as coronavirus lockdown measures caused demand to plummet and businesses to close. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) closely watched “PMI” gauge of services sector activity fell to 41.8 in April. It was the first [...]
Germany’s top court tells ECB to justify bond-buying programme May 5, 2020 Germany’s highest court has said the European Central Bank can continue buying bonds but must prove that purchases under its crisis-era programme are necessary within three months or Germany’s central bank must stop participating in the scheme. However, the judges’ decision does not impinge on the ECB’s coronavirus bond-buying scheme, under which it has pledged [...]
