Market Pulse - Currencies
Pennon to sell Viridor for £4.2bn to Planets UK Bidco Limited
Pennon is planning the sale of its recycling and waste business Viridor to Planets UK Bidco Limited for £4. 2bn.
UK facing economic 'emergency' - BoE Governor
Andrew Bailey, the new governor of the Bank of England, has called for calm during the growing coronavirus crisis, insisting that firms should think twice before laying off staff.
US pre-open: Stocks set for low start as WTI closes on levels of 2003
US equity futures are pointing to moderately big drops on Wall Street as investors parse the headlines around proposed fiscal stimulus packages in the States, even as they keep a close eye on the reaction in government bond markets.
US February housing starts come in ahead of forecasts
Activity in the US housing market was keeping up a brisk pace at the start of 2020 and some economists still saw scope for growth to resume in the latter half of the year assuming the economy returned to something closer to normal.
EU considers deploying emergency fund to aid in coronavirus crisis
The European Union is considering deploying the European Stability Mechanism to help combat the coronavirus crisis.
US mining output slumps in February
Industrial production in the States grew more quickly than expected in February despite weakness in the mining sector.
US retail sales volumes undershoot forecasts in February
US retail sales undershot forecasts last month and although economists said that they would likely be revised higher, they were also quick to warn that sharp drops in consumer spending lay ahead.
UK house prices surge post-election, but Covid-19 dampens outlook
House prices hit a fresh high in February, data published on Monday showed, as consumer confidence improved following last year’s decisive general election.
China GDP on course for first contraction in Q1 since 1989
Economic activity in China registered its first outright contraction in over three decades at the start of 2020.
Boris Johnson calls on tech companies for help to fight coronavirus
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged the UK’s leading tech companies and artificial intelligence researchers to help in the fight against the coronavirus.
US consumer confidence declines in March, but no 'economic panic'
The spreading coronavirus and big falls in stock market prices weighed on US consumer sentiment at the start of the month, the results of the most closely-watched survey showed.
Europe to set to ease fiscal rules, Germany may issue new debt
Europe appeared to up the ante on the fiscal front towards the end of the week.
NY Fed kicks into 'emergency mode', analysts see 'QE4'
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that it would expand its programme of daily securities purchases "across a range of maturities", alongside $1. 5trn of emergency liquidity injections, in what traders said marked the start of the US central bank's fourth round of quantitative easing.
ECB keeps rates on hold, but announces QE and liquidity auctions
The European Central Bank kept all its main interest rates unchanged, a negative surprise for some analysts, but announced a raft of measures of new financing measures.
Fed to cut rates by 100 basis points in March, Rabobank says
Rabobank changed its call for interest rate cuts by the US central bank on the back of what it termed the "current market panic and slow progress in effective policy measures by the [US] federal government. ".
WHO chief declares coronavirus outbreaks a global pandemic
The global health watchdog declared the latest coronavirus a pandemic the first such ocurrence by that type of virus.
Businesses in Wuhan begin return to normality as coronavirus outbreak subsides
Some vital industries at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, in Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei, were told on Wednesday that they could restart operations after the coronavirus outbreak subsided.
US CPI eases slightly less than expected in February
The cost of living slipped less than expected last month as a jump in food costs more than offste a large decline in energy prices.
Ex-BoE's King warns against rate cuts to fend off coronavirus
A former Governor of the Bank of England cautioned economic authorities against simply resorting to blunt tools such as interest rate cuts and more government spending to protect the economy from the hit to activity levels from the coronavirus.
Brent oil futures plummet 25% after Saudi Arabia cuts selling prices
Crude oil futures are hurtling lower following Saudi Arabia's decision to slash its official selling prices to Asia, Europe and the US by a record amount, marking the start of a price war after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries's failure to strike an agreement with the Russian Federation during the previous week to curb their combined production.