Category Archives: Stock markets

German economy in sharpest decline since 1970, as markets await US GDP – business live

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Here in Britain, roughly one in three furloughed workers returned to work in the first two weeks of July, when pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels reopened, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed today.

Businesses surveyed between 29 June and 12 July said 7% of their staff had returned from furlough within the past fortnight, while 17% remained on leave. The government-funded job retention scheme pays 80% of their salaries and covers more than 9 million people at the moment, about a third of the private-sector workforce. But it will be scaled back from Saturday and come to an end on 31 October.

Here is our full story on Airbus. The Toulouse-based planemaker has been hit hard by the collapse in air travel, and received only eight new orders between April and June, compared with 290 in the first quarter.

Related: Airbus slows plane-making as Covid-19 leads to £1.7bn loss

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Gold eases from new $1,980 record as dollar lifts ahead of Fed meeting – business live

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Gold rally cools amid profit-taking

Julie Palmer, partner at business advisory and restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, says:

The success of Greggs has been the envy of the high street in recent years, however, even the bakery chain hasn’t been immune to the impact of Covid-19 which has forced its stores to close and eaten away at its top line.

For Greggs, achieving rent reductions from landlords will be first on the tick list, and indeed this has been a priority for many on the high street. But once these costs have been reduced its push to return to success will begin. And given its track record of marketing & PR success with its famous vegan sausage roll, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another high profile campaign on the horizon that captures the sentiment of a nation experiencing seismic change.

Let’s have a look at today’s corporate news. Greggs, Britain’s biggest bakery chain (known for its vegan sausage roll) has warned that sales won’t get back to pre-pandemic levels for as long as physical distancing continues.

But it’s fared better than other retailers: sales are now running at 72% of the 2019 level. All of its 2,050 stores reopened by July, after being forced to close during the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on 23 March. Greggs made a £65.2m loss before tax in the first half, compared with a £36.7m profit a year ago.

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‘Major’ breakthrough in Covid-19 drug makes UK professors millionaires

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Synairgen’s share price rises 540% on morning of news of successful drugs trial

Three professors at the University of Southampton school of medicine have this week made a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of coronavirus patients and become paper millionaires at the same time.

Almost two decades ago professors Ratko Djukanovic, Stephen Holgate and Donna Davies discovered that people with asthma and chronic lung disease lacked a protein called interferon beta, which helps fight off the common cold. They worked out that patients’ defences against viral infection could be boosted if the missing protein were replaced.

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Global stock market rally is a gamble, IMF warns investors

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Report identifies gap between market optimism and depressed state of economies

The global stock market rally represents a gamble by investors that central banks will ignore the risks of a buildup in debt and continue to provide support at the current record levels, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

In an update to its half-yearly global financial stability report, the IMF said central banks had been pivotal in the recovery of share prices from their Covid-19 trough but there was now a gap between the optimism of financial markets and the depressed state of economies.

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UK shares, sterling rise on further lockdown easing hopes – business live

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The government is reportedly ready to let beer gardens open from 22 June as part of plans drawn up by a group of ministers, dubbed the “Save Summer Six”, who are looking at ways to restart the hospitality industry earlier than initially planned, writes my colleague Rob Davies.

The proposals, first reported in the Financial Times, would allow some of the 27,000 UK pubs that have outdoor space to serve customers for the first time in three months.

UK airline and travel stocks are up, for once, despite the new quarantine rules. The cruise operator Carnival is the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 index, up 14%, while BA owner IAG is 6.9% ahead and easyJet has gained 5.5%.

As reported earlier, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said the airline would fly through the 14-day UK quarantine, which he described as “rubbish”. Britain’s three biggest airlines – Ryanair, easyJet and IAG – have begun legal proceedings against the government over the quarantine rules, which they argue are illogical and unfair, and come months late.

Related: Ryanair boss: Britons know quarantine rules are rubbish

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UK car sales slump as 2,000 workers lose their jobs in Covid-19 crisis – business live

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Live coverage as Aston Martin and car dealer Lookers announce costs savings plans

Young’s pub chain intends to open all of its 276 sites by the 3 August, and is hopeful the business can “bounce back” once its pubs are allowed to reopen, but expects trading to be “materially below average” for the rest of the year.

Another interesting detail from the SMMT data: Tesla’s Model 3 was the most popular car during May.

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Stocks rise despite US protests and US-China jitters – business live

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Germany’s final reading for the manufacturing PMI in May is 36.4, worse than expected, and up only slightly from April’s 11-year low of 34.5. It signals deep contraction.

Phil Smith, principal economist at IHS Markit, said:

The latest data show that business continues to be severely disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. Even though more factories have started to resume operations after the loosening of restrictions, weak underlying demand is still a limiting factor, as evidenced by the survey’s measure of new orders rebounding far less than that of output in May.

Manufacturing production was already down 7-8% from a peak in late-2017 even before the onset of the pandemic, and now that figure looks to be in the region of 25-30%. With production as far as it is below capacity and manufacturers not expecting a full recovery anytime soon, factory job losses have continued to accelerate, led by another round of staff cuts in the particularly ravaged investment goods sector.

The French manufacturing PMI rose to 40.6 in May (slightly up from the preliminary reading of 40.3), compared with 31.5 in April.

Eliot Kerr, an economist at IHS Markit, which compiled the survey, said:

Despite some French manufacturers beginning to resume normal operations in May, output continued to decline following April’s record contraction. Although the rate of decline eased, the further reduction in activity highlights the challenges that the economy faces in its recovery from this crisis.

Firms are now presented with an environment of subdued demand, as clients remain hesitant to place orders amid uncertainty over the removal of restrictions and the potential for further outbreaks.

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More than 10m workers paid £21.8bn in UK government coronavirus support – business live

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Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets

In total the coronavirus government support for UK workers has come to £21.8bn, if you add together the money paid for furloughed employees and income support for self-employed workers.

More than 10m British workers have been given some form of income support, if furlough numbers are added to those who have claimed self-employed support*.

More struggles for the British property sector:


British Land, which owns shopping centres including Sheffield’s Meadowhall and Drake Circus in Plymouth, has written down the value of its retail portfolio by more than a quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus.

Related: Shopping centre owner British Land slashes value of retail portfolio

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Richard Burr steps down as Senate committee chair over FBI investigation

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Burr’s cellphone seized overnight in inquiry into claims he used private coronavirus briefing to sell stocks before market plunge

A Republican US senator stepped down from a key committee leadership role in Congress on Thursday after his phone was seized overnight by investigators with a warrant looking into allegations that he used private briefings as inside information to dump shares before the market plummeted over the coronavirus crisis.

Related: Republican senator urged to quit after report he sold stocks before Covid-19 market plunge

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Global markets recoil as Trump threatens US-China trade war

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US president escalates attack on Beijing’s handling of coronavirus pandemic

Donald Trump’s threats to reignite the US-China trade war over coronavirus has triggered another sell-off in global financial markets, as the economic costs of the pandemic continue to mount.

Against a backdrop of rising tension between the world’s two economic superpowers, share prices resumed a downward slide on Friday with the FTSE 100 falling by 144 points, or 2.5%, in London.

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Eurozone downturn and US jobless surge hit markets – business live

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The euro area is suffering its worst contraction ever, as the French economy suffers its biggest plunge since the second world war

Britain’s FTSE 100 has just posted its worst day in a month, at the end of its best month in two years.

The blue-chip index has closed down 214 points at 5901, a drop of 3.5%. That wipes out yesterday’s rally, and half of Wednesday’s gains too!

Related: Shell cuts dividend for first time since 1945 amid oil price collapse

Shares in Zoom have dropped over 6% today, after the video-conferencing services admitted it wasn’t quite as popular as thought...

Zoom had initially said it had 300 million daily users, following the surge in remote working. But, it actually has 300 million daily meeting participants.

Zoom shares dropped more than 7% after the company walked back on claims it has 300 million daily active users. $ZM actually reached 300m daily participants, the difference being that meeting participants can be counted more than once.https://t.co/UIVYBP9sqt

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World’s stock markets soar on coronavirus treatment hopes

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Investors shrug off US growth gloom after promising data from remdesivir drug trial

Shares have soared on the world’s stock markets after investors shrugged off a deep slump in the US economy and pinned their hopes on a possible breakthrough in treatment for Covid-19.

Despite news that the longest expansion in US history came to an abrupt end in the first three months of 2020, financial markets were buoyed by an update from the American biopharma company Gilead Sciences on its experimental drug remdesivir.

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US faces worst quarter ‘since Great Depression’, but markets rally – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Wall Street has opened higher, despite the prospect of a sickening slump in growth this quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 109 points, or 0.46%, to 23,884 as a new week’s trading begins.

Alexandra Scaggs of Barrons has spotted that General Motors’ banks pushed it to suspend its dividend (as flagged earlier).

so GM suspended its dividend & share buybacks

one interesting point that's not in the headlines: Banks wanted that as a condition for extending more credit to the company https://t.co/RWCWF4tvea

to me the press release reads like "hey we decided to stop doing these things"

and the filing reads like "our lenders asked us to stop doing these things before they would extend the repayment date on one of our loans" pic.twitter.com/wH5R4aCqDF

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What will coronavirus mean for the British economy?

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As the UK faces what may be its worst ever recession, we begin a monthly series exploring the financial shock to business and living standards

One month after a national lockdown was declared in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, it is clear that Britain is heading for the deepest recession in living memory.

Boris Johnson’s government launched unprecedented restrictions on 23 March, telling the British public that they must stay at home and bringing life as the nation knew it to an abrupt halt.

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Oil sinks again as investors fret about economic cost of Covid-19 – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

European markets are falling deeper into the red this morning, as coronavirus recession fears swirl.

The FTSE 100 is now down 90 points, or 1.5%, at around 5,700 points - with similar losses in other markets.

The OBR says the UK economy could fall by 35% in the second quarter. Brutal for sure, but it also expects a very sharp bounce back. This puts it in the V-shaped recovery camp, which is an ever-decreasing circle. Charles Evans, the Chicago Fed president, said yesterday the US is in for a very sharp but hopefully short downturn.

Money managers are more pessimistic. According to Bank of America’s latest Global Fund Manager Survey, just 15% see a V-shaped recovery. Over half (52%) see a U-shaped recovery, where the long line along the bottom stretches on for some time, perhaps years. A fifth (22%) see a W-shaped recovery – possibly sparked by a sharp bounce back and second or third wave of infections – and 7% see the dreaded L – a long depression like the 1930s and no real recovery. The biggest tail risk is a second wave of infections, which makes the speed at which you reopen economies key. My bet, for what it’s worth, is WWW.

Newsflash: Global oil demand is expected to fall by a record amount this year -- according to industry experts.

The International Energy Agency has predicted that demand will slump by 29 million barrels per day in April -- to levels last seen in 1995 -- as the Covid-19 lockdown hits demand extremely hard.

“By lowering the peak of the supply overhang and flattening the curve of the build-up in stocks, they help a complex system absorb the worst of this crisis.

“There is no feasible agreement that could cut supply by enough to offset such near-term demand losses. However, the past week’s achievements are a solid start.”

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Blindsided: how coronavirus felled the global economy in 100 days

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A singular event has economists asking the same questions as everyone else: how far is there to fall – and can we ever get back?

It is New Year’s Eve 2019 and around the world stock markets are closing for business on a high note. Shares in the US are up by almost 30% on the year, those in Japan by 18%. Even in Britain, where the mood has been dampened by months of Brexit uncertainty, the FTSE 100 has risen by 12%.

Overall, it had been the best year for stocks since 2009 and traders saw no real reason why the party should not continue into 2020. The US and China looked close to an armistice in their trade war, the US central bank was stimulating the world’s biggest economy, and Boris Johnson’s decisive victory in the general election had removed any lingering doubts about whether Britain would leave the European Union.

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Donald Trump ‘lost $1bn in a month’ from coronavirus lockdown

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Stock market crash strips billionaire status from 267 of world’s richest people in the annual list

Donald Trump lost an estimated $1bn of his paper fortune in the past month as the coronavirus lockdown forced the closure of offices, shopping centres, hotels and golf courses he owns.

The US president’s fortune has fallen from an estimated $3.1bn (£2.5bn) on 1 March to $2.1bn on 18 March (at the height of stock market panic caused by the coronavirus pandemic) according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list.

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Coronavirus: Republican senators sold stocks before markets plunged on Covid-19 fears – reports

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Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia have denied they kept the public in the dark

Two Republican senators have faced demands to resign after it was reported they sold off millions of dollars worth of stocks just before the market dropped amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Burr of North Carolina, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, whose husband is chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), denied that they kept the public in the dark about the scale of the threat.

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Markets plunge despite coordinated action by central banks

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Sharp losses recorded after US interest rate cut, as Bank of England hints at further support to combat turmoil

The FTSE 100 fell below 5,000 points on Monday and trading on Wall Street was suspended for the third time in a week as markets were gripped by mounting concerns over the threat of a global recession, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs.

In an escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, stock markets suffered further sharp losses on Monday despite dramatic action taken by the US central bank late on Sunday in an attempt to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Fed bids to shore up confidence after worst week in 12 years

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Pledges of help from EU, China and Germany plus declaration of US emergency produce mild rally after torrid week

The world’s most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, is preparing a fresh attempt to shore up investor confidence despite a late rally on Wall Street on Friday that ended a torrid week for stock markets on a more positive note.

Fresh pledges of help from China, Germany and the European commission combined with Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over coronavirus to reassure investors after an ordeal for equities on both sides of the Atlantic that echoed the depths of the banking crisis.

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