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Coronavirus: UK car production plummets to lowest level since World War II

UK car production fell by almost 100% in April, with just 197 cars produced in the entire month.

Coronavirus: Over 100 MPs call on Chancellor to extend support for self-employed

The government's self-employed income support scheme is set to end over the weekend, leaving millions facing uncertain incomes.

Coronavirus: Bupa on why office space spending should be re-invested into mental health

Speakers look at how COVID-19 has sharpened our focus on physical and mental health and brought this to the top of the agenda.

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  Coronavirus: How the crisis is unlocking a completely new available workforce

  Yahoo Finance UK
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  DIAL Global Virtual Summit: Google, Amazon, Unilever execs talk about diversity and inclusion

  Yahoo Finance UK

GBP/USD Recovery Rally Hindered By BoE Easing Expectations

GBP/USD is attempting to recover higher this week on the back of a weaker dollar, however, expectations of further monetary policy easing are weighing on the pair.

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  GBP/USD Holds Near Two-Week Highs as the Dollar Continues to Weaken

  FX Empire
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  GBP/USD Daily Forecast – A Pause After The Recent Rally

  FX Empire

Coronavirus: 46% of businesses don't know when they'll reopen

A survey by the Office for National Statistics found almost half of businesses still don't know when they'll reopen.

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  Forget Stay-At-Home Stocks & ETFs, Bet on Easing Lockdown

  Zacks
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  Horse racing returns in New Zealand as lockdown eases

  The Associated Press

What to watch: Regus owner IWG raises £320m, Boohoo buys PrettyLittleThing stake, stocks rise

A daily overview of the top business, market, and economic stories to watch in the UK, Europe, and abroad.

Coronavirus: Home Office gave just 100 visas to come to the UK last month

Before the crisis the UK was issuing more than 258,000 visas a month for travel, work and study in Britain.

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  Trump administration to crack down on Chinese student visas: report

  Fox Business
• 
  Top Stock Reports for Alphabet, Visa & Bank of America

  Zacks

Coronavirus: EasyJet slashes up to 4,500 staff in 'knee-jerk' job cuts

EasyJet said it would also reduce its fleet as it battles to survive the collapse in demand triggered by the pandemic.

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  Airlines increase job cuts as pandemic crushes air travel

  Associated Press
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  EasyJet cuts jobs; Norwegian Air losses deepen

  Reuters Videos

Coronavirus: Firms warn of closures and job losses if furlough grants cut

One in four firms say they can't afford to pay even part of furloughed staff wages as the government prepares to ask them to help foot the bill.

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  250,000 firms could lay off workers as Sunak mulls furlough withdrawal

  The Telegraph
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  UK workers covered by coronavirus wage subsidy hit 8.4 million

  Reuters

Pound slides as UK Brexit negotiator says 'big gap' between two sides

David Frost told MPs the EU's negotiating position was 'not a mandate that is likely to produce an agreement that can be agreed with us'.

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  UK's chief Brexit negotiator admits fishing deal is unlikely by July deadline

  The Telegraph
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  UK tells EU: break the Brexit 'impasse' so we can do trade deal

  Reuters

GBP/USD Price Forecast – Pound Rolls Over After Brexit Comments

The British pound rolled over a bit during the trading session on Wednesday, from the highs of the trading session on Tuesday.

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  GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks Resistance

  FX Empire
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  USD/JPY Price Forecast – US Dollar Drifts Lower Against Japanese Yen

  FX Empire

GBP/USD Holds Near Two-Week Highs as the Dollar Continues to Weaken

GBP/USD made a notable bullish break on Tuesday which signals further upside potential over the near-term.

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  GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Sideways Against Yen

  FX Empire
• 
  EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Continues to Press 200 Day EMA

  FX Empire

Coronavirus: UK government warned self-employed face 'total income cliff-edge'

Business chiefs and MPs say self-employed support should be extended like the furlough scheme, but the Treasury says it is 'under review.'

GBP/USD Daily Forecast – A Pause After The Recent Rally

GBP/USD moved above 1.2250 but met significant resistance at 1.2350.

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  EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Rallies on Stimulus Hopes

  FX Empire
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  GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Continues to Hug Major Figure Against Yen

  FX Empire

GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Continues to Grind

The British pound continues to go back and forth during the trading session on Thursday, as the pair has a lot of noise in this general vicinity.

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  USD/JPY Price Forecast – US Dollar Continues to Struggle Against Japanese Yen

  FX Empire
• 
  Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Going Sideways

  FX Empire

GBP/USD Daily Forecast – Second Attempt To Settle Above 1.2250

GBP/USD is trying to get back to the upside mode after yesterday’s sell-off.

U.S Weekly Jobless Claims to Put the Greenback in Focus as Geopolitical Risk Lingers

The U.S Dollar is in action later today, with the weekly jobless claims and durable goods orders in focus. There’s also Trump and Beijing to consider.

U.S. Dollar Index (DX) Futures Technical Analysis – In Position to Post Closing Price Reversal Bottom

The direction of the June U.S. Dollar Index into the close on Wednesday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to yesterday’s close at 98.906.

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  GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Continues to Hug Major Figure Against Yen

  FX Empire
• 
  USD/JPY Price Forecast – US Dollar Continues to Struggle Against Japanese Yen

  FX Empire

EasyJet, Carnival could fallout of FTSE 100, even after another big day of gains

Travel shares were again having a strong day in London, but two big names in that sector, easyJet PLC and Carnival PLC, were set to get the boot from the FT100 index at the close of Wednesday trading due to what one analyst called the biggest reshuffle since 2009.

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  American Airlines to Cut 30% of Management and Administrative Staff

  The Wall Street Journal
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  Coronavirus: EasyJet slashes up to 4,500 staff in 'knee-jerk' job cuts

  Yahoo Finance UK

Gold Finds No Love as Sentiment Improves

Gold prices slipped to levels not seen in two weeks on Wednesday as optimism around the reopening of economies outweighed fears over escalating US-China tensions.

The ECB and Brussels Put the EUR in Focus as Geopolitics Tests Risk Sentiment

As market jitters over the U.S and China resurface, the ECB and the EU Commission will be in focus later this morning…

Pound Traders May Be Facing Choppiest June Since Brexit Vote

(Bloomberg) -- The pound is heading for this year’s fourth monthly slide, and a lengthening list of risks is pointing to more turbulence in June.Sterling traders look set to face heightened uncertainty on multiple fronts next month -- the end-June deadline to extend the Brexit transition period, the possibility of negative interest rates in the U.K. and the economy’s tentative exit from the pandemic lockdown.That suggests the market will likely break with the trading lull typical for the time of the year, with volatility possibly scaling highs unseen in June since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Sterling has slid 2.1% versus the dollar this month to around $1.2330 on Tuesday, falling in May for the 11th year in a row.“Much uncertainty hangs in the balance around Brexit and the end of June,” said Neil Jones, head of foreign-exchange sales to financial institutions at Mizuho Bank. “Uncertainty generally pushes volatility higher.”The current Brexit transition period finishes at the year-end, which means Britain and the European Union have only until then to forge a new trade deal in order to avoid tariffs and quotas. The other option is to extend the interim period -- and the last date to do so is June 30. Talks between negotiators resume on June 1, after this month’s discussions made little progress.Brexit Gets Personal as Officials Trade Barbs Amid High TensionUnwillingness to extend the transition period would leave negotiators with the tall task of cobbling together a trade pact -- a process that often runs into years -- in a matter of months. That would only heighten concern that the two sides may part ways without an agreement.Sterling volatility will likely rise on such a prospect as well as any move to extend the transition, albeit not to highs seen during the peak of the pandemic turmoil in March, according to Mizuho’s Jones.Domestic political noise in the U.K. could also fuel fluctuations in sterling. Dominic Cummings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s most powerful adviser, is under sustained attack over claims he breached lockdown rules. Douglas Ross, a junior minister for Scotland, has resigned in protest.The pound may also see wide fluctuations around the Bank of England’s meeting on June 18. Money markets are already pricing in the prospect of sub-zero U.K. interest rates by year-end after recent comments by Monetary Policy Committee members suggested the central bank isn’t ruling out the possibility. That prospect sent two-year U.K. bond yields to a record low below 0% last week.What Bloomberg Intelligence Says“Risk managers will be hedging negative rates given they can’t be completely ruled out now, but they remain unlikely to become policy anytime soon with upsizing quantitative easing the preferred option. It’s only until we get a real signal that two-year yields can go a lot more negative, as was the case in Germany”\-- Tanvir Sandhu, Chief Global Derivatives StrategistAccording to Bloomberg Economics, negative rates probably won’t be a game changer for the economy and a more potent policy mix may be for the BOE to continue with asset purchases, complementing government fiscal stimulus.“I think an extension to QE is in the price, but negative rates would still increase pressure on pound at this point,” said Jane Foley, a senior foreign currency strategist at Rabobank International.Pound Risks 35-Year Low With BOE Fueling Sub-Zero Rate BetsShould the U.K. become the next major nation with negative interest rates, the pound could also face pressure from the options front, where risk reversals suggest that traders have stayed less bearish compared with the spot market.The gauge, a barometer of market positioning and sentiment, shows that overall downside risks still prevail for the U.K. currency. The latest data reveal the depth of the economic damage from the Covid-19 crisis and investors will be on the lookout to assess the impact of the easing restrictions on the rate of the spread of coronavirus in the country.For Rabobank’s Foley, expectations for pound swings next month should have been higher already as Brexit news is back.“Given that Brexit tensions look set to rise as well as political pressure on the government over its handling of Covid-19, it is almost inevitable that we will see further volatility and downside pressure on the pound into June,” she said.(Updates prices in third paragraph, with details of U.K. political issue in eighth)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.