Seven days in the Square Mile

Global markets continued to be rattled by the coronavirus outbreak in China, with exchanges in Korea and Singapore taking heavy hits amid fears that regional companies could be the first to suffer. The value of traditional safe haven assets such as the dollar, the yen and gold all rose. Bond yields fell, as did oil, and the prices of commodities such as copper and iron ore all dipped on concern over Chinese growth. The price of crude fell more than 2% to below $60/ barrel – its lowest level in three months. JPMorgan analysts predicted a further hit of up to $5 a barrel if the outbreak developed into a full-blown epidemic. Both the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England were set to make key calls on interest rates. The Fed was expected to hold rates steady after three cuts last year; the Bank’s decision was more finely balanced. Many economists, citing falling inflation, expected the first UK base-rate cut since 2016, from 0.75% to 0.5%. Others pointed to a more positive outlook for the economy and forecast the Bank would stay its hand. Shares in Finablr, the foreign exchange group behind Travelex, slumped to their lowest level since listing after its founder pledged more than half the company as security for a loan. Boeing posted its first annual loss in two decades; it expects the bill for the grounding of the 737 Max jet to reach $18.6bn. The Government said it would strip the troubled Northern rail franchise from Arriva five years early. The line will be renationalised.