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Today's big stories

The world’s biggest shipping company sees rough waters ahead as the pandemic savages global trade
One money manager is warning investors not to get lured in by the high returns of one its former favorite investments – Read Now
The coronavirus lockdown caused the UK economy to shrink at its fastest monthly pace on record in March

1/3

Profound Shrinkage

What’s Going On Here?

The UK economy contracted at its fastest monthly pace on record in March, and it’ll need all the professional help it can get to pull itself together again.

What Does This Mean?

Even though the country's lockdown only kicked off in the last week of March, the UK economy shrank almost 6% that month compared to the previous one. That brings its total contraction in the first quarter of 2020 to 2% versus a quarter ago – the biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis (tweet this). And it was the usual suspects of travel, accommodation, and air transport that were hit the hardest, with economic activity across those sectors almost halving.

The bleak numbers were actually better than expected, but the Bank of England had yet more gloomy forecasts to pile on: namely that it expects the UK economy to shrink by 25% this quarter. It’s perhaps no wonder, then, that the central bank is thinking about new economy-boosting measures, like lowering interest rates further and buying up even more bonds.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Remember Brexit?
Months of political uncertainty and now the outbreak mean the UK economy’s failed to grow for three of the previous four quarters. But the most recent of them still outperformed Europe’s latest, with the economy shrinking at roughly half the pace. And with data out on Wednesday showing output from Europe’s crucial manufacturing sector falling at its fastest pace on record in March, that diverging economic performance may well continue for the rest of 2020.

For markets: Bleepbleep–eeeeeeee–chkchkchk–shhhhhhh.
Other data out on Wednesday showed UK retail sales plunging almost 20% in April compared to a year ago, as physical stores closed their doors and shoppers booted up the world wide web. That probably explains why online sales were up 60% from a year ago. Not to say online retailers are now swimming in profit, mind you: Amazon, for example, doesn’t expect to make much of one at all given the $4 billion it’s spending on additional coronavirus expenses.

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2/3 Premium

Don’t Look Down

What’s Going On Here?

Amid worrying signs that investors aren’t focused enough on the economy disappearing beneath their feet, money manager Invesco is now warning them off one of its former favorite high-returners entirely.

Get the full story with Finimize Premium

🏡 The “Should I buy that house?” starter kit

As coronavirus-hit housing markets start to reopen across the world, here are some questions you ought to ask yourself…

⏰ Is now the right time to rent or to buy?

There are pros and cons to both, so first things first, decide which one’s right for you.

😟 What exactly would I be getting myself into?

Everything from interest rates to eventual recoveries will affect your purchase: get an overview of them all.

📉 How will rock-bottom interest rates impact my mortgage?

Speaking of rates, they’ll influence the interest you pay on your mortgage, so make sure to do your homework on those too.

💰 And how will a recession impact me and my money?

Recessions are all the rage, but they affect everyone differently: find out what a recession means for you.

Psst, these links go to our app – check them out on your phone.

3/3

Profound Shrinkage

What’s Going On Here?

The UK economy contracted at its fastest monthly pace on record in March, and it’ll need all the professional help it can get to pull itself together again.

What Does This Mean?

Even though the country's lockdown only kicked off in the last week of March, the UK economy shrank almost 6% that month compared to the previous one. That brings its total contraction in the first quarter of 2020 to 2% versus a quarter ago – the biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis (tweet this). And it was the usual suspects of travel, accommodation, and air transport that were hit the hardest, with economic activity across those sectors almost halving.

The bleak numbers were actually better than expected, but the Bank of England had yet more gloomy forecasts to pile on: namely that it expects the UK economy to shrink by 25% this quarter. It’s perhaps no wonder, then, that the central bank is thinking about new economy-boosting measures, like lowering interest rates further and buying up even more bonds.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Remember Brexit?
Months of political uncertainty and now the outbreak mean the UK economy’s failed to grow for three of the previous four quarters. But the most recent of them still outperformed Europe’s latest, with the economy shrinking at roughly half the pace. And with data out on Wednesday showing output from Europe’s crucial manufacturing sector falling at its fastest pace on record in March, that diverging economic performance may well continue for the rest of 2020.

For markets: Bleepbleep–eeeeeeee–chkchkchk–shhhhhhh.
Other data out on Wednesday showed UK retail sales plunging almost 20% in April compared to a year ago, as physical stores closed their doors and shoppers booted up the world wide web. That probably explains why online sales were up 60% from a year ago. Not to say online retailers are now swimming in profit, mind you: Amazon, for example, doesn’t expect to make much of one at all given the $4 billion it’s spending on additional coronavirus expenses.

Copy to share story: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/shrink-appointment/

🙋 Ask a question

💬 Quote of the day

“By the work one knows the workman.”

– Jean de la Fontaine (a French fabulist)

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🙄 7pm is so last year

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🇬🇧 UK: Investing in Brands During COVID-19 – 3pm UK Time, May 15th
🇦🇪 UAE: Future-Proof Your Finances, Funding, & Accelerating – 5pm Dubai Time, May 17th
🇺🇸 USA: Raising Capital During a Pandemic – 1pm EST, May 20th

📚 What we're reading

So a misguided belief walked into a bar… (National Geographic)
Who needs a theater when you can make your own? (Popular Mechanics)
It’s hard to see the forest for the COVID-grown trees (NBC)

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Finimize - 🤬 Recession, recession everywhere

Today's big stories

Profound Shrinkage

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

Don’t Look Down

🏡 The “Should I buy that house?” starter kit

Profound Shrinkage

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

🙄 7pm is so last year

Older messages

📉 Aramco takes a huge hit

👎 WeWork won’t pay

🤮 20 million jobs lost

🤭 The biggest recession ever

⚠️ UBS says don’t sell

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