England and Wales coronavirus death toll nears 50,000 June 16, 2020 Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales have hit 47,387 since the start of the year until 5 June, official data confirmed today. That contrasts with official government data yesterday that puts the overall UK death toll from coronavirus at 41,736. While England’s coronavirus death toll stood at 45,432 according to the Office for National Statistics [...]
UK unemployment data: Five key facts as furlough stems job losses June 16, 2020 New figures released today showed that the UK’s unemployment rate unexpectedly remained flat for the three months to April, confounding expectations of a sharp rise. But economists are warning that a bleak picture lurks behind that headline figure as the impact of coronavirus on the British labour market begins to show. City A.M. has broken [...]
The City View: Jack Inglis on the evolution of the hedge fund June 16, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Jack Inglis, CEO of the Alternative Investment Management Association which represents funds from 60 countries with more than $2 trillion under management between them. Jack talks about how hedge funds have responded to the market volatility and economic disruption of recent months, and offers a robust defence of [...]
Coronavirus: Plans for Portugal-UK ‘air bridge’ going well June 15, 2020 Portugal’s prime minister Antonio Costa has said that negotiations over an “air bridge” with the UK were still in progress and going well. Speaking to foreign media, Costa said: “We are working towards an agreement and will wait for it to happen”. If the measure is agreed, people in England will be able to travel [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Is retail investor surge cause for caution? June 15, 2020 | City Talk With a combination of resurgent markets, seemingly ebullient retail investors and a bleak economic outlook, it may be prudent to tread carefully. It’s an old investment cliché that when your taxi driver starts giving you share tips, it’s time to sell. As someone who has been on the receiving end of cabbie investment advice during [...]
German economy to contract more sharply in second quarter than first, warns ministry June 15, 2020 The German economy will contract more in the second quarter than in the first, the country’s economic ministry said, warning that the recovery in the second half of 2020 would be sluggish. Europe’s largest economy went into lockdown in March, with many shops closing and factories halting production in a bid to limit the spread [...]
Bunzl shares rise as demand for cleaning kit spikes amid pandemic June 15, 2020 Bunzl’s share price rose considerably in early trading today as it revealed half-year revenue is set to rise despite the pandemic. The FTSE 100 outsourcer said it expects revenue to the end of June to climb around six per cent despite the impact of coronavirus. That sent shares up six per cent to 1,997p. Hailing [...]
Astrazeneca to supply Europe with 400m doses of Oxford coronavirus vaccine June 15, 2020 Astrazeneca has committed to supply Europe with 400m doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine before the end of 2020. The drugmaker has partnered with the University of Oxford to develop the possible Covid-19 vaccine, and will begin delivering it to Europe after reaching an agreement with Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA). The IVA has said [...]
Over 1m ‘locked out’ of coronavirus income support schemes, MPs warn June 15, 2020 The government must extend its coronavirus income support measures to cover over a million people who have “fallen through the gaps” in the schemes, MPs said. In a report published this morning, the influential Treasury Select Committee (TSC) said large numbers of people were suffering financial hardship because they are unable to benefit from the [...]
Asian stocks, oil prices fall as second wave fears grow June 15, 2020 Asian stocks stumbled on Monday and oil prices slipped as fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections in Beijing sent investors scurrying for safe-havens. Meanwhile, underwhelming data from China further weighed on investor sentiment. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 per cent with Australian shares off 0.1% and South [...]