Key Weekly Data Points – week commencing 06/07/2020

Daniel Casali provides a round-up of key market activity during the week of 6th July.

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Daniel Casali
Published: 06 Jul 2020 Updated: 02 Feb 2023

Daniel Casali provides a round-up of key market activity during the week of 6th July.

Reporting 157219337

Monday 6th

  • European banks have been paid €13.2bn (£11bn) worth of fees due to Coronavirus. This comes after the Federal Reserve’s stress tests suggested that European banks will have sharp losses due to the pandemic.
  • UK employers planning to make furloughed workers redundant may face regulations forcing them to pay back wages previously paid by taxpayer money.

Tuesday 7th

  • Positive news for the retail sector in Europe as sales rose by a record amount of 17.8% between April and May.

Wednesday 8th

  • A second wave of COVID-19 could cause unemployment in the UK to reach 15% by the end of 2020, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has suggested. Furthermore, the OECD have called for governments to reduce wage subsidies and move workers away from ‘shrinking sectors.’
  • Rishi Sunak announced £30bn of funding to help the UK recovery for COVID-19. This included a ‘Job Retention Bonus’ of £1,000 per employee, VAT cuts in certain sectors and changes to stamp duty on housing.

Thursday 9th

  • Boots and John Lewis are set to cut 5,300 jobs and close over 50 stores, between them, as they feel the impact from lockdown and a shift towards online shopping.
  • US weekly jobless claims continued to show improvement with 1.3m new claimants, down from 1.41m the previous week.

Friday 10th

  • British retailers have warned that in the case of no Brexit trade deal, household staples will increase in price. The British Retail Consortium suggested that the price of beef imported from the Republic of Ireland will go up 48%
  • Rating agency Standard and Poor’s have said they expect banks across the world to write off $2.1trn in debts over the next two years. Moreover, these losses have the capacity to eradicate 75% of bank’s profits for this year and 40% for next year.

 

Source: Bloomberg.com 

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By necessity, this briefing can only provide a short overview and it is essential to seek professional advice before applying the contents of this article. This briefing does not constitute advice nor a recommendation relating to the acquisition or disposal of investments. No responsibility can be taken for any loss arising from action taken or refrained from on the basis of this publication. Details correct at time of writing.

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This article was previously published on Smith & Williamson prior to the launch of Evelyn Partners.