Donald Trump demands US rate cut ahead of G7 coronavirus talks – business live

Sales of hand sanitiser surged in the UK last month, as worried consumers tried to protect themselves from Covid-19.

Sales of hand sanitiser rose by 255% in February, data company Kantar reported. Liquid soap sales jumped by 7%, while demand for household cleaners rose 10%.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said:

“Given the media focus around the outbreak of COVID-19 in February, it’s unsurprising to see shoppers prudently protecting themselves from illness.”

Some stores have run out of hand sanitisers as the first coronavirus cases were reported in the UK – suggesting that sales could have been even higher had shops been able to meet demand.

As we reported yesterday, supermarkets are preparing to cope with any surge in stock-piling or panic buying from the coronavirus, having drawn up ‘feed the nation’ strategies.

Sales at bakery chain Greggs have been hit by the series of blustery storms that hit Britain last month…..and the coronavirus could hurt the business too.

Greggs told shareholders this morning that:

“We made a very strong start to 2020 in January, but in February saw a significant slowdown in sales growth as a result of the storms that have affected the UK.

There is some uncertainty in the outlook, particularly given the potential impact of Coronavirus.

2019 had been a good year for Greggs. Pretax profits jumped to £108.3m, from £82.6m, partly due to its new vegan range. But if customers start shunning the high street, it will suffer.

European markets are a sea of green, as optimism following Wall Street’s huge rally ripples across the Atlantic.

Connor Campbell of SpreadEx comments:

There are rallies, and there are rallies – and boy did the Dow Jones RALLY on Monday night, posting its greatest ever points gain on the hopes that the world’s central banks can muster a co-ordinated response to the coronavirus this Tuesday.

It is a sign of just how bad the final week of February was that the Dow’s 1,297 point – or 5.1% – increase still leaves it almost 3,000 points off of where it was on Valentine’s Day.

Nevertheless, after a weekend full of stimulus-suggesting statements, news that the central bank chiefs and finance ministers of the G7 would be having a conference call to discuss an action plan – like a fiscal version of the Avengers – designed to combat the coronavirus crisis was enough to point the markets in the right direction.

The stock market rally is gathering pace in London, driving shares higher.

The FTSE 100 is now 136 points up this morning, or 2%.

But as you can see, that only recovers a small slice of last week’s rout. The Footsie is still down 10% this year.

Shares in holidaymaker TUI jumped by 4% at the start of trading in London.

Last night, TUI announced it would cut spending and implement a hiring freeze, after suffering weaker bookings since the coronavirus outbreak began.

It added:

“At this point in time, we only see a marginal effect on our operations,”

TUI’s shares had slumped by 30% last week, during the market rout.

UK product testing firm Intertek were the only FTSE 100 stock falling in early trading, after warning shareholders that the factory shutdowns in China are hurting.

Intertek is not immune to the impact of the Novel Coronavirus and our 2020 performance will be affected by the temporary disruption to the supply chains of our clients in China and any impact it might have on global trade activities. It is too early to quantify the impact of the Novel Coronavirus.

Boom! European stock markets have jumped at the start of trading, on hope of central bank intervention.

The FTSE 100 has gained 97 points, or 1.5%, taking the blue-chip index back to 6745 points. Nearly every stock is rallying. That’s a solid rise, but it still leaves the Footsie 9% lower than in mid-February.

Germany’s DAX has jumped by 1.3%, while France’s CAC and Spain’s IBEX have both gained 1.5%.

By calling on the Federal Reserve to “cut rate big”, Donald Trump is demanding significant easing of US monetary policy.

The Fed funds rate is currently 1.50–1.75% — compared to just 0.75% in the UK, and zero in the eurozone. So there is potential for chunky cuts, with the markets already pricing in three cuts this year.

Australia’s central bank has already taken action to ward off a coronavirus recession, by slashing borrowing costs to a record low.

The Reserve Bank of Australia voted to lower its benchmark interest rate to just 0.5% today, from 0.75%, blaming the impact of the virus outbreak. That could set the tone for today’s coronavirus conference call.

My colleague Ben Butler reports:

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut official interest rates to a new record low of 0.5% due to the “significant effect” of the coronavirus outbreak on the Australian economy and has signalled it is prepared to cut further if needed.

“The global outbreak of the coronavirus is expected to delay progress in Australia towards full employment and the inflation target,” the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, said.

He said that at a meeting on Tuesday the bank’s board “therefore judged that it was appropriate to ease monetary policy further to provide additional support to employment and economic activity”.

The RBA’s move could be the first of a series of interest rate cuts in the weeks ahead, if central banks decide they need to act.

President Donald Trump has seized on the RBA’s move as a stick to beat America’s Federal Reserve — claiming, for the nth time, that Fed chief Jerome Powell is blundering.

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Can policymakers save the world economy from being dragged into a recession by a coronavirus epidemic?

Markets are looking for action when top central bankers and G7 finance ministers hold a teleconference call today.

Led by US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, it will discuss the “widening coronavirus outbreak and its economic impact.

Obviously these Lords of Finance can’t come up with a vaccine to tame Covid-19. But if they can deliver easier monetary policy and growth-friendly spending plans, they could protect businesses from the economic shock of the coronavirus.

Hopes of a breakthrough today triggered a monster rally on Wall Street last night. The Dow posted its biggest points gain ever (1,297) as it surged by 5.1% – its best day since March 2009.

European markets are expected to open higher today, with the EU-wide Stoxx 600 called up around 0.6%.

But will policymakers deliver? Reuters is reporting that a draft statement is already being prepared, which doesn’t yet call for fresh fiscal spending or coordinated interest rate cuts by central banks.

So that optimism could yet falter, if yesterday’s rally proves to be a classic ‘dead cat bounce’.

Also coming up today

Outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney is appearing before the UK parliament’s Treasury Committee today. He leaves the BoE on the 15th March, so can speak pretty freely about monetary policy, the state of the economy, and the Bank itself.

We also get a health check on UK construction this morning. It may show that the sector contracted slightly again last month.

The agenda

• 9.30am GMT: Bank of England governorMark Carney appears before Treasury committee
• 9.30am GMT: UK construction PMI – expected to rise to 49.0 from 48.4
• Noon GMT: G7 finance ministers and central bankers hold coronavirus teleconference