By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday launched a new state-backed loan scheme for businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing existing programmes that have seen struggling businesses borrow some 73 billion pounds so far.
The new scheme will offer loans from 25,000 to 10 million pounds ($13.97 million), with an 80% state guarantee, replacing the previous ‘bounce back’ scheme aimed at small businesses and programmes for larger firms.
$1 = 0.7159 pounds Reporting By Lawrence White, Editing by Iain Withers
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain expects to post a deficit of 1.2 billion dinars ($3.20 billion) in 2021, state news agency BNA said, citing the finance ministry.
FILE PHOTO: A shopkeeper counts his daily cash in Bahraini dinars as he opens his shop in downtown Manama, Bahrain, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The oil-producing Gulf state projected a budget of 3.6 billion dinars for 2021 with revenues expected to amount to 2.4 billion dinars, BNA said.
For next year, total expenditure is estimated at 3.57 billion dinars, against total revenues of 2.46 billion dinars, resulting in a slightly lower deficit of 1.1 billion dinars.
Bahrain’s economy contracted by 5.4% last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated, as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt vital sectors such as energy and tourism.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attends a news conference following talks with state leaders to discuss anti-coronavirus measures at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany December 13, 2020. Bernd von Jutrczenka/Pool via REUTERS
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday passed new legislation to introduce all-electronic securities as part of its wider blockchain strategy, finance ministry said.
The law eases rules that until now had forced issuers and holders of securities to document transactions with a paper certificate.
“The paper certificate may be dear to some for nostalgic reasons, but the future belongs to its electronic version,” Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said, adding that electronic securities cut costs and administrative burdens.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans on Wednesday said he is "optimistic" about the economic outlook and does not expect to need to further ease Fed policy as long as Congress passes further fiscal relief.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak delivered what he hopes will be a last big spending splurge to get Britain's economy through the COVID-19 crisis, and announced a corporate tax hike from 2023 as he began to focus on the huge hit to the public finances.