Investment and coronavirus: Keep calm and don’t cash out March 18, 2020 Coronavirus has sent stocks plunging like few other events in the history of financial markets. The FTSE 100 has dropped by a third in the last month. Other indices such as the S&P 500, Japan’s Nikkei, and Germany’s Dax are all in roughly similar positions. Not only are people concerned for their health, but their [...]
Global stocks set to spiral despite coronavirus stimulus measures March 18, 2020 Global stocks looked set to slump yet again today as investor panic over the escalating coronavirus outbreak clouded the impact of major government stimulus policies. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 3.5 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.7 per cent overnight, failing to follow a rally in US stocks yesterday. Wall Street rebounded yesterday [...]
European leaders agree to lockdown external borders for 30 days March 17, 2020 European leaders have agreed to implement a 30-day ban on non-essential travel to the EU in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. The measures, which were proposed yesterday by the European Commission, were just one of a number of steps that commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles [...]
Gatwick chief takes 20 per cent pay cut as airport lays off 200 workers March 17, 2020 Gatwick Airport has implemented a number of measures to protect its financial resilience in light of plummeting airline demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. The airport is cutting 200 of its temporary staff and exploring the potential to introduce options for unpaid leave or temporary salary reductions for staff. Chief executive Stewart Wingate will take [...]
Coronavirus: Government pledges ‘whatever it takes’ to help British businesses March 17, 2020 The government has pledged to do “whatever it takes” to support a greater number of British businesses and individuals as the coronavirus outbreak causes major economic disruption. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said government would “stand behind businesses small and large”, pledging government-backed and guaranteed loans “to get through this”. The loan package totalled £330bn, equivalent to [...]
Brexit talks scrapped as coronavirus escalates March 17, 2020 The second round of trade talks between the UK and the EU have been cancelled in light of the escalating coronavirus outbreak. Negotiating teams led by David Frost on the UK’s side and Michel Barnier on the EU’s were due to meet in London tomorrow to continue to thrash out a deal to set the [...]
Britain’s biggest banks warn coronavirus pandemic will hit income March 17, 2020 Some of the largest banks in Britain have warned the coronavirus pandemic will hit their already under-pressure earnings, with a decline in economic activity eating into fee income. Lloyds will delay part of a £3bn technology investment programme in response to the coronavirus pandemic to maintain its capital levels, its chief executive said today, as [...]
Coronavirus: Elderly should stay away from Mother’s Day lunch March 17, 2020 The over-70s should avoid Mother’s Day lunch with their children and grandchildren the chief scientific adviser has said today, as he warns that 20,000 coronavirus-related deaths would be “a good outcome”. Sir Patrick Vallance, who has been one of the two chief medical experts to appear alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson during recent press conferences, [...]
Coronavirus: UK horse racing suspended until end of April March 17, 2020 Horse racing in Great Britain has been suspended until the end of April due to the coronavirus outbreak. The decision by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will become effective tomorrow. It marks the latest major sporting event to fall victim to the health crisis as authorities ban mass gatherings in a bid to halt the [...]
London Metal Exchange plans to suspend ring trading amid coronavirus outbreak March 17, 2020 The London Metal Exchange (LME) is planning to suspend open outcry trading and shift its business entirely on to electronic systems for the first time in its 143-year history to limit the spread of coronavirus. The LME said today that it expects to temporarily shutter Europe’s largest open-outcry trading venue next Monday to protect traders [...]