Economics | The Guardian

Rolling coverage of the latest business and markets news, as rising Covid cases overshadowed enthusiasm for a vaccine3.02pm GMT2.48pm GMTUS regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the ex-Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf for his role in misleading investors about the success of its core business.He’s agreed to pay $2.5m to settle the charges.2.32pm GMTWall Street is open for trading and stocks are broadly higher:1.41pm GMTThe FCA is not getting much applause for its proposed censure of Carillion and its warning to executives- at least not from Prem Sikka, professor of accounting at the University of Sheffield and emeritus professor at the University of Essex:Need evidence of UK regulatory failure? Look no further than Carillion collapse. Thousands lost jobs, savings, pensions. After nearly 2 yrs, the FCA censures directors, no financial penalty. That is not a deterrent . FCA is unfit to be a regulator.https://t.co/EkXERsoV1i1.35pm GMTDATA FLASH: The US producer price index (PPI) for October rose 0.5% year-on-year.That is higher than economist expectations for a 0.4% rise.1.23pm GMTDespite a pullback today, the London stock market is heading for its best week since April amid rising hopes that a coronavirus vaccine can trigger a faster economic revival from the pandemic than first anticipated.The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares is on track to end the week more than 300 points higher, a rise of almost 7%, despite a modest sell-off on Friday as City investors bet it would still take time to deploy the vaccine and for Britain’s economy to stage a full recovery.Related: FTSE 100 set for best week since April as Covid vaccine triggers hopes for economy12.56pm GMTBREAKING: Spanish bank Santander is set to cut 4,000 jobs in Spain and cut around 1,000 branches.That’s according to Reuters, citing local news agency EFE.12.32pm GMTPrime minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman has confirmed that Brexit talks will be paused over the weekend but will resume in Brussels net week, according to Reuters.The spokesman added that familiar differences remain in EU trade talks over a level playing field and fisheries.Related: Brexit standoff blamed on No 10 infighting over Cummings' departure12.16pm GMTTesco has apologised after its grocery website was overwhelmed with shoppers trying to book delivery slots for Christmas.

Index of leading UK companies ends week 7% up after Pfizer/BioNTech announcement

Britain’s economy returned to growth in the third quarter, but September slowdown worries economists

GDP recovery could have been stronger with better planned job support and consistent messaging, say unions and firmsThe bounceback in the UK economy in the third quarter was record breaking, but the response from business groups, trade unions and many economists was that it might have been so much stronger.If only the government had signalled in July it would keep the furlough scheme in place until next March, as it was subsequently forced to do.Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the total value of activity in the economy over a given period of time. Continue reading...

Growth surge follows easing of first lockdown but ONS data reveals recovery slowing fastBritain’s economy grew at a record quarterly rate of more than 15% as lockdown restrictions were eased in the summer but the recovery was losing momentum even before new curbs came in, the latest official figures have revealed.Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that national output expanded by just 1.1% in September – the last month before fresh action was taken to limit the spread of Covid-19.Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the total value of activity in the economy over a given period of time. Continue reading...

Household borrowing and arrears linked to pandemic have soared to £10.3bnBritain is “sleepwalking into a debt crisis” after a steep rise in emergency borrowing by low- and middle-income households to cope with the Covid-19 jobs crisis.Research by the debt charity Stepchange found that household borrowing and arrears linked to the coronavirus pandemic have soared 66% since May to £10.3bn. The number of people who are in severe debt has risen to 1.2 million – nearly doubling since March – with a further 3 million people at risk of falling into arrears after taking on extra short-term loans.Related: Financial first aid: how to make it through the second Covid lockdown Continue reading...

Report commissioned by Rishi Sunak recommends tax raid that could raise up to £14bnA tax raid on buy-to-let properties and other forms of wealth could raise up to £14bn to help repair the government’s battered finances, after a report commissioned by the chancellor recommended a major overhaul of capital gains tax.Flagging a tax squeeze on the well-off to help pay for coronavirus, the maximum capital gains tax (CGT) rate of 28% could be raised by Rishi Sunak closer to income tax rates, where the top rates are 40% and 45% in England and Wales.Related: UK recession fears and rivalries take the shine off Rishi SunakRelated: Sunak now prefers risk of doing too much to risk of doing too little Continue reading...

Deutsche Bank report argues that the proceeds should help lower-paid workers

HBOS whistleblower who had warned against its unsustainable lending and the sale of financial products such as PPIIn the years leading up to the economic crisis of 2007-08 few challenges were made to excessive and opportunistic financial activity and since then few individuals have been called to account for the damage it caused. Paul Moore, who has died aged 61 of colitis, set in train a rare whistleblowing reproach to bankers whose laxness led to incalculable harm and misery.As head of group regulatory risk at HBOS, which came into being with the merger of Halifax and the Bank of Scotland in 2001, Moore had oversight responsibility for the bank’s compliance with the Financial Services Authority regulations. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Job furlough scheme fails to stop 314,000 people losing job in three months to September

People who have been made redundant in recent months reveal how they have been coping

Rishi Sunak’s response to Covid was not enough to halt a record rise in redundancies

LSE survey finds trend towards more people working for themselves under threat

The president-elect can learn from Franklin D Roosevelt’s response to Herbert HooverPresidential transitions are never easy, especially when they involve an incumbent president defeated at the polls. But this time the transition occurs in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The incumbent refuses to acknowledge the vote as a rejection of his policies and has a visceral dislike for the president-elect, whom he accuses of dishonesty and dismisses as too frail to assume the duties of office. He tars his successor as a socialist, an advocate of policies that will put the country on the road to ruin.The year was 1932, and the transition from Herbert Hoover to Franklin D Roosevelt occurred in the midst of an unparalleled economic depression and banking crisis. The outgoing president, Hoover, had an intense aversion to his successor, whose incapacity of concern was not any lack of mental acuity, but rather Roosevelt’s partial paralysis. He called FDR a “chameleon on plaid” and accused him of dealing “from the bottom of the deck”. In his campaign and subsequently, Hoover insinuated that FDR’s socialistic tendencies would put the country on a “march to Moscow”.Related: Donald Trump’s refusal to concede sparks transition sabotage fears Continue reading...

The Guardian’s advice team share their advice for readers navigating the consumer rights jungle created by the pandemicCoronavirus has proved to be a disaster for consumer rights in the UK, as the airlines, travel firms, and some insurers have behaved as if they were above the law. Even to a seasoned consumer champ it’s been shocking. It’s been interesting to see how different companies in the same boat have reacted to the crisis. Some refused to engage with their customers at all, removing all email and phone contacts from their websites, while others pulled out the stops to try to help customers. Consumers have long memories, and when this all settles down, some firms may find they no longer have much business left.Some of the bank fraud cases we have featured have seen the reader lose in excess of £70,000 Continue reading...

In wake of Covid, leading figures call for bold green measures to boost economyWorld leaders are running out of time to forge a green recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, with only a year to go before a crunch UN summit that will decide the future of the global climate, leading experts have warned.Progress on a green recovery, which would reduce emissions while repairing the damage from the pandemic, has been hampered by the need for an emergency rescue of stricken economies around the world and the resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe, the US and some other countries.On Thursday 12 November, join Guardian environment journalist Fiona Harvey for a livestreamed Guardian Live discussion on the climate emergency with Particia Espinosa, Nigel Topping and Nisreen Elsaim. Buy tickets here Continue reading...

Surveys of business activity show a sharp decline as both confidence and output fall

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had been expected to be confirmed as leader on MondayThe race to find a new leader of the World Trade Organization has been thrown into renewed uncertainty after the cancellation of a key appointment meeting following the US presidential election.The Geneva-based WTO, which acts as an international arbiter for trading disputes, said it had put off a meeting scheduled for Monday that had been called to appoint Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its next director general. Continue reading...

The president-elect is unlikely to buy the argument that he should have been more radicalIn the end, for the Democrats it was a case of euphoria mingled with relief. Relief that they had not managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Relief that the president’s lies about electoral fraud failed to gain traction. Relief that Donald Trump’s days in the White House are now numbered.But really, it should not even have been close. There may have been worse presidents than the one Joe Biden has defeated but off hand it is hard to name one. A disastrous last year means Trump is on course to be the first occupant of the White House since the second world war to preside over a net loss of jobs. When Herbert Hoover did that during the Great Depression he won only six states in the 1932 election and secured less than 40% of the vote. Continue reading...

Thursday’s economic data will be lifted by ‘eat out to help out’ – but critics say it led to a Covid surge that will hit future growthRishi Sunak’s popular “eat out to help out” scheme will be remembered in this week’s publication of third-quarter GDP figures for the major boost it gave Britain’s pub and restaurant trade.In the August rush to grab a discount dinner it seemed like every table in every hospitality venue in the country was booked between Monday and Wednesday, and analysts believe that underpinned a rise in consumer confidence and with it GDP, the measure of national income, between July and September. Continue reading...

Trump may not have carried all before him, but in times of fear and inequality, his ideas still resonate – and not just in the USPlacards adorned with the slogans “America First” and “Make America Great Again” are destined for landfill now that the trap door of American politics has opened under Donald Trump’s feet. Some will put them aside for a possible return of “the Donald” in 2024 – should he avoid scrutiny over allegedly fraudulent tax returns, and should the Republican party back him again. Otherwise, millions of dollars of election paraphernalia are destined for the bin.Yet a widespread belief that a change of guard at the White House means the yearning behind the slogans will disappear is naive. Every developed country has its version of America First, not least the UK. After all, what is Brexit if not a demand to put Britain first?Rising prices and increasing automation make ordinary families panic about their ability to better themselves Continue reading...

Biden plans to push through aid stimulus amid the pandemic, undo Trump’s corporate tax cuts, and crack down on big techWhen Joe Biden enters the White House on 20 January, he will face arguably the biggest set of challenges a president has had to tackle since the end of the second world war. The coronavirus is raging through the US, millions of Americans are still losing their jobs each month, and the climate crisis – ignored by the Trump administration – is deepening.Biden has set out his economic and policy plans, but without control of the Senate he may struggle to realise them. Official GDP figures for the third quarter showed the size of the economy was still almost 4% below its previous peak, despite a 7.4% recovery from the spring lockdown.Ensuring the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy by 2035 and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050.Overhauling US infrastructure to ensure that buildings, water, transportation and energy infrastructure can withstand the impacts of climate change.Rejoining the Paris agreement on climate change and rallying world leaders to address the issue.Tackling polluters and others whose actions have disproportionately affected low-income communities and people of color.Raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, from 21%.Impose a minimum tax on all foreign earnings of US companies located overseas in an attempt to stop the use of foreign tax havens.Penalize corporations that ship jobs overseas.Raise the top individual income rate back to 39.6% and force those making more than $1m a year to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.Only increase taxes on those earning over $400,000 a year.Yeah, i don’t want to be 20cent. 62% is a very, very,bad idea. i don’t like it ! #abcforlife nov 18 #starzgettheapp pic.twitter.com/y9TsSs0o6Q Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

The chancellor has finally had to put the nation’s health first. Yet his delays to lockdown cost lives and harmed the economy

The chancellor’s star rose quickly, but now ‘the richest man in the Commons’ is attracting new kinds of attention

Average price of home tops £250,000 but Halifax says Covid controls will slow down market

Spending watchdog claims ports and businesses are not ready for 1 January, with Northern Ireland a big concernBillions of pounds worth of trade with the European Union will face “significant disruption” on 1 January, regardless of whether a trade deal is agreed, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has concluded.The National Audit Office (NAO) said crucial IT systems have yet to be tested and transit areas for lorries are not ready as the government attempts to prepare new border controls for the end of the Brexit transition period. The planned controls, which had already been rated “high risk”, have been further hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released today.Related: Plant inspectors and rising prices: UK garden industry set for Brexit shock Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as BoE predicts the UK economy will shrink again this quarter

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Twenty lenders have rejected total of 26,933 applications for bounce-back loans since May

Move to prop up stricken economy comes amid second Covid wave and fresh restrictions

We have to confront reality on Covid, but it need not be bleak. Where is the radical thinking about a pandemic-proof Britain?

Chancellor’s unspoken message in latest furlough extension is that tough curbs will remain even after 2 December

The chancellor has announced that the government will extend the UK's furlough scheme until March as the second wave of Covid-19 infections and new lockdown threaten to push up unemployment. In a major climbdown, Rishi Sunak said the Treasury would continue to pay 80% of workers’ wages

Latest U-turn follows growing pressure for more support to protect jobs and the economy as second wave hitsRishi Sunak has been forced into a U-turn over the government’s flagship job support scheme as he announced an extension of the furlough programme until March next year.In a major climbdown for the government, the chancellor said the Treasury would allow the scheme to run for a full year by continuing to pay 80% of temporarily laid-off workers’ wages until 31 March. Sunak also announced an expansion in funding for self-employed workers from November to January, in an announcement that indicated a difficult winter ahead as the government confirmed that economic support would run well into next year.Taken aback by ChX statement.

Investors think that the Democrat could be hamstrung by the Senate and unable to pass stimulus, meaning a better outlook for tech and health stocksShares in Asia Pacific have climbed to their highest point for nearly three years as Joe Biden edged closer to becoming the next president of the United States.As the Democrat challenger sought the remaining six electoral college votes he needs for victory, investors on the other side of the world were betting that he would make it to the magic figure of 270 and end uncertainty over the outcome of the election in the world’s biggest economy.Related: What we know so far about the 2020 US election Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Exit polls show economic concerns were top of mind for voters, and anti-lockdown rhetoric resonated for many

Latest figures heap pressure on Bank of England to inject more cash into the economyThe British economy is on course for a double-dip recession this winter, according to data showing growth slowing down in the UK’s dominant services sector last month.The latest IHS Markit/Cips monthly survey of the services sector, which accounts for three quarters of economic activity, showed that a recovery over the summer stalled in October, heaping further pressure on the Bank of England to boost its stimulus programme when officials meet this week. Continue reading...

Closures would leave 14% of high street, retail park and shopping centre outlets empty in Britain

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Markets rally across Asia and Europe as analysts expect Democrats to triumphShare prices in the City registered their biggest daily gain in two months amid investor hopes that a Joe Biden victory in the US presidential election would result in a major new stimulus package.London’s leading stock market index, the FTSE 100, closed up by 131 points, or 2.33%, at 5786 as the gloomy mood of last week faded.Related: Markets plunge in uncertainty about a second term and a second wave Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Carolyn Fairbairn said second lockdown will be worse than the first for many businesses

When the remote town of St Just, Cornwall, was locked down in March, the small community worried that its economy wouldn’t survive. But one town councillor, Daisy Gibbs, rallied an army of volunteers to form ‘the Daisy chain’, an informal support network to ensure every household in the district had support. Inspired by her imagination and resilience, filmmaker Sky Neal followed the Daisy Chain for seven months, as local businesses adapted and the community pulled together to realise a more sustainable future. However, as a second wave of restrictions threatens, the town has to dig deep to find the resilience they need to ensure their future. Can they re-invent their local economy to survive and thrive beyond Covid? Continue reading...

Filmmaker Sky Neal returns to her hometown in Cornwall to capture a community fighting to keep the local economy alive in the face of the Covid lockdownThe new Guardian documentary follows the innovative activities of a volunteer support network, the Daisy Chain. For seven months, filmmaker Sky Neal immersed herself in the community of St Just, the most westerly town in England. As food producers and business owners in the town struggle to survive the first lockdown, how will they find the resilience to pull together and face a second wave with winter approaching?What inspired you to make this film? Continue reading...

Exclusive: Liz Truss urged to sign off deals quickly to spare African states high tariffs once Brexit transition period endsThe Labour party has urged the UK trade secretary, Liz Truss, to end delays over rollover deals with Kenya and Ghana to prevent them being slapped with high tariffs when the UK leaves the EU on 1 January.Negotiations with Kenya and Ghana have yet to be signed off with only nine weeks to go before the UK’s transition deal with the EU comes to an end, when import charges would be imposed on goods worth £2.6bn from the African countries. Continue reading...

Economists predict another big hit but the GDP drop will not be so severe, not least because it has less far to fall

Economists predict a further GDP fall from between 7.5% and 10% with unemployment to soar