Author: LoveWorld UK

European shares surged on Wednesday following a strong rally in the previous session, as investors bet on unprecedented stimulus measures to ease the economic pain on businesses and households from the coronavirus pandemic. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 4.2%, with energy .SXEP, autos .SXAP, insurers .SXIP and financials .SXFP jumping between 5.4% and 6.7%. With an 8% surge on Tuesday, swings last seen at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the benchmark index has recovered its losses from mid March, but remains more than 25% below its record high last month. On Wednesday, U.S. officials reached a…

British banks must keep lending to businesses through the coronavirus crisis to ensure that previously viable companies do not fail, the government and Bank of England said on Wednesday. In a joint letter to the chief executives of major banks, finance minister Rishi Sunak, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the interim chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, Chris Woolard, urged lenders to support the economy. “This will require a willingness to maintain and extend lending despite the uncertain economic conditions. We must ensure that firms whose business models were viable before this crisis remain viable once it…

London shares gained on Wednesday as an enormous U.S. stimulus package and evidence of moves by companies to deal with the financial effects of the coronavirus crisis offset the impact on markets of a surge in cases domestically. The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE, down 30% in the past month, on Tuesday saw its best day since the swings of the financial crisis of 2008. It had recovered another 1.4% by 0811 GMT, as oil & gas companies, drugmakers and insurers rose. U.S. senators and the Trump administration reached an agreement on a $2-trillion (1.70 trillion pounds) package on Wednesday, expected to…

Britain should widen a government wage guarantee to cover self-employed and sacked workers, rather than just those whose employers agree to temporarily put them on leave, a think tank said on Wednesday. Last week Britain’s government promised to pay 80% of companies’ wage bills for staff who they put on leave due to the coronavirus shutdown, rather than sacking them, similar to an earlier proposal from the Resolution Foundation think tank. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told parliament on Tuesday that he was looking into how best to support the self-employed, but there were “very significant challenges” in identifying…

Britain should widen a government wage guarantee to cover self-employed and sacked workers, rather than just those whose employers agree to temporarily put them on leave, a think tank said on Wednesday. Last week Britain’s government promised to pay 80% of companies’ wage bills for staff who they put on leave due to the coronavirus shutdown, rather than sacking them, similar to an earlier proposal from the Resolution Foundation think tank. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told parliament on Tuesday that he was looking into how best to support the self-employed, but there were “very significant challenges” in identifying…

Britain could introduce stronger measures than 30 pound fixed penalty fines for people who flout new restrictions announced on Monday to slow the spread of coronavirus, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said. “The police have a range of enforcement tools, and of course fixed-penalty notices and fines are just one of them. If people do persist in behaving in an anti-social way, there are stronger measures that we have,” he told ITV on Tuesday. “The legislation will be in place in order to ensure that we have appropriate penalties and appropriate punishment for those people who do not adhere to…

Sports Direct, Britain’s largest retailer of sports goods, plans to keep its shops open amid the coronavirus outbreak, arguing that sports equipment should be considered essential, media reported citing a senior executive letter to staff. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told all Britons to stay at home to halt the spread of coronavirus on Monday, saying that all but essential shops must shut immediately and people should no longer meet family or friends or risk being fined. Supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies and bike shops were amongst the services designated essential. Sports Direct shops would stay open “where possible”, Chris Wootton,…

China’s Hubei province where the coronavirus pandemic originated will lift travel restrictions on people leaving the region as the epidemic there eases, but other regions will tighten controls as new cases double due to imported infections. The Hubei Health Commission announced it would lift curbs on outgoing travellers starting March 25, provided they had a health clearance code. The provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus first appeared and which has been in total lockdown since since Jan. 23, will see its travel restrictions lifted on April 8. However, the risk from overseas infections appears to be on the rise, prompting…

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on hopes that the United States will reach a deal soon on a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package which could blunt the economic impact of the outbreak and in turn support oil demand. Brent crude oil LCOc1 futures for May delivery rose by 62 cents, or 2.3%, to $27.65 a barrel by 0346 GMT while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures gained 76 cents, or 3.3%, to $24.12. Both price benchmarks had risen over $1 earlier before pulling back slightly. “Oil is clawing its way higher mainly on the back of the weaker dollar…

Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Britons on Monday to stay at home to halt the spread of coronavirus, imposing curbs on everyday life without precedent in peacetime. All but essential shops must close immediately and people should no longer meet family or friends or risk being fined, Johnson said in a televised address to the nation. Johnson had resisted pressure to impose a full lockdown even as other European countries had done so, but was forced to change tack as projections showed the health system could become overwhelmed. Deaths from the virus in Britain jumped 54 to 335 on Monday…