ECB accelerates bond-buying; UK delays EU import checks; John Lewis store closure warning – as it happened
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- UK delays Brexit import checks as supply disruption loomed.
- Firms welcome move ‘in nick of time’
- Law firm Gowling: Huge relief to companies
- ECB says virus mutations and lockdown hurting recovery
- ECB to accelerate pace of its bond buying to help recovery
- John Lewis to close more stores after £517m loss
Time for a recap:
“The rebound in global demand and additional fiscal measures are supporting global and euro area activity. But persistently high rates of coronavirus infection, the spread of virus mutations and the associated extension and tightening of containment measures are weighing on euro area economic activity in the short-term.”
While the overall economic situation is expected to improve over 2021, there remains uncertainty surrounding the near-term economic outlook, relating in particular to the dynamics of the pandemic and the speed of vaccination campaigns.”
Checks were due to be introduced on 1 April and 1 July, but in recent days traders and ports have warned they were not ready, adding that the introduction of processes as originally planned could lead to empty supermarket shelves.
Michael Gove, who runs the Cabinet Office, told the House of Commons on Thursday that government had responded to businesses’ requests for more time and announced what he called a “revised timetable”.
Related: UK forced to delay checks on imports from EU by six months
“It’s been a real economic earthquake. We’ve seen decades worth of change in the space of one year. Shopping habits have changed irreversibly.”
Related: John Lewis to close more stores as Covid crisis wipes out profits
Related: Morrisons profits fall by half in 2020 as costs of Covid pandemic bite
Related: Rolls-Royce reports £4bn loss as Covid crisis shakes jet-engine maker
Related: BAT buys £126m stake in Canadian cannabis firm OrganiGram
Back in New York, the S&P 500 has also hit a new alltime high.
Reuters explains:
Mega-cap stocks Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Tesla gained between 2.2% and 3.6%, recouping losses from a recent pullback and helping the benchmark S&P 500 surpass its Feb. 16 peak of 3,950.43.
Intraday all-time highs for the Dow and S&P 500. Nasdaq still about 5% from its peak.
