UK borrowing surges to pay for Covid-19 impact The UK’s debt is now worth more than its economy after the government borrowed a record amount in May 2020. The £55.2 billion was nine times higher than in May 2019 and the highest since records began. The borrowing sent government debtRead More →
More stimulus The U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would start buying individual corporate bonds. The Fed said, ‘it will purchase corporate bonds to create a corporate bond portfolio’. The Federal Reserve is stepping things up again after recent comments left investors more than a little concerned about the pace ofRead More →
Shocking but no surprise! The UK economy shrank by a record 20.4% in April 2020 due to the damaging affects of lockdown. The monthly decline was outlined in figures reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The GDP fall is three times greater than the decline seen during theRead More →
As we continue to look at the economic damage done by the coronavirus, yesterday’s focus was on the U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI, which rebounded a little and gave some optimism to markets. The data may suggest that the worst is past for the U.S. economy and that the slowdown inRead More →
The U.S. economy slowed more than expected with the GDP reading for the first quarter coming in at -5%. Analysts have suggested that the second quarter GDP could be down by as much as 40% 1 in 4 Americans have lost their jobs Data yesterday, 28th May 2020, showed U.S.Read More →
UK borrowing at record high as virus cost soars Government borrowing surged dramatically to £62 billion in April 2020 according to data released by the Office for National Statistics, was the highest monthly borrowing on record, as a result of substantial government intervention to help ease the coronavirus crisis. TheRead More →
Barely out of lockdown after facing a once in a lifetime world wide unprecedented pandemic and some decide it’s time for a holiday. I can’t begin to imagine how upsetting it must be for front line workers to witness the selfishness displayed over recent days. They all deserve so muchRead More →
Powell says virus poses lasting harm The U.S. economy faces unprecedented downside risks that could do lasting damage if policy makers don’t rise to the challenge, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is reported to have said. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said more measures will likely be needed to pull theRead More →
On the 14th February I posted an article entitled, ‘Strange times – have U.S. markets gone mad’? Strange times – have U.S. markets gone mad? Shortly after that post, this happened… By the third week in February 2020 U.S. markets were holding up at all time highs and on theRead More →
Coronavirus has shocking impact on U.S. jobs The shocking impact the coronavirus is having on the U.S. economy was laid bare today, Friday 8th May 2020. The release of non-farm payroll data recorded a massive increase of 20.5 million unemployed, climbing dramatically to reach historic levels not witnessed since theRead More →