FTSE 100 and US stocks soar on coronavirus treatment hopes August 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped and US stocks hit fresh highs after the US authorised a new coronavirus treatment, lifting the mood among global investors. London’s blue-chip index rose 1.7 per cent to close at 6,104 points. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms rose 0.6 per cent. Read more: Asian stocks climb after Wall Street [...]
PwC resigns as auditor of gold miner Petropavlovsk on governance concerns August 24, 2020 PwC has resigned as the auditor of under-fire gold miner Petropavlovsk due to concerns over the firm’s corporate governance after a long-running boardroom battle. The FTSE 250 miner today confirmed that the Big Four accountant had turned down its appointment as Petropavlovsk’s auditor. According to the Russia-focused company, PwC cited “the recent significant changes in [...]
Asian stocks climb after Wall Street rally August 24, 2020 Asian stocks started the week in positive territory this morning after an announcement from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) raised hopes of a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA last night said it had authorised the use of blood plasma from recovered patients as a possible treatment for the virus. The announcement came on the [...]
Global dividends plunge to record quarterly low August 24, 2020 Global dividends plunged by a fifth to $108.1bn in the second quarter, with payouts in the UK and Europe the worst affected. As companies scrambled to conserve cash as coronavirus cases increased, payouts fell 19.3 per cent on an underlying basis to $382.2bn, according to Janus Henderson’s global dividend index. It is the worst quarterly [...]
Wall Street ticks up as FTSE 100 sinks into red amid Covid-19 case worries August 21, 2020 Wall Street crept marginally higher this afternoon and the FTSE 100 dropped again as investors weighed up the global economic recovery and pockets of rising coronavirus cases. London’s blue-chip index closed down almost 0.19 per cent at 6,001 points, while the FTSE 250 climbed 0.24 per cent. US markets opened in the red before reversing [...]
Oil prices fall on oversupply and US jobless data August 20, 2020 Oil prices dropped today after it emerged producer cartel faces a huge surplus and the number of new US jobless claims climbed back above 1m. Brent crude fell 2.7 per cent to $44.13 per barrel, while benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down three per cent at $41.62 per barrel. It followed reports that some Opec [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slide amid fears over global economy August 20, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks fell after the US Federal Reserve gave a pessimistic view of the economy and the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits unexpectedly rose. Investors are also concerned about rising coronavirus cases. France reported its biggest increase in cases since May and Spain is struggling to deal with its [...]
Premier Oil shares crash as it swings to first-half loss August 20, 2020 Shares in Premier Oil plummeted almost 25 per cent in early trading after the oil giant posted a hefty first-half loss due to weak oil prices. The figures Premier Oil posted revenue of $530.6m (£406m) in the first half, down from $883.1m in the same period last year. The company swung to a loss after [...]
US stocks open higher as Wall Street eyes more records August 19, 2020 Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday and looks to be heading for another day of new all-time records. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high yesterday after recovering all of the losses suffered during the coronavirus crash and was up once again on Wednesday morning by a further 0.28 per cent to 3,399 points. [...]
Pound slips after touching highest level since start of year August 19, 2020 The pound slipped back after touching its highest level against the dollar since the start of January, as traders weighed up Brexit negotiations and rising inflation. Sterling hit $1.327 today, erasing its losses for 2020 as it reached its highest level since 1 January. It was helped by the continuing slide in the dollar, which [...]
