Switzerland could start reducing the debt pile it accumulated to help cushion the coronavirus pandemic's impact in two to three years and finishing repaying it over 15 years, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said in a radio interview.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would set out a timetable next week for when remaining sectors of the British economy would be allowed to reopen, citing examples like indoor gyms, swimming pools and nail bars.
Turkey's lira slipped to its weakest since mid-May late on Friday after Fitch said the country still faces external financing risks and that its monetary easing cycle has neared an end, after inflation jumped more than expected. The currency, which hit a record low on May 7, was worth 6.865 versus the dollar to close the week, after sliding to as far as 6.88 in late-day trading.
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh. * Graphic: Trade-weighted sterling since Brexit vote http://tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv. By Ritvik Carvalho. Sterling headed for its first positive week in four against the dollar on Friday, holding below the $1.25 mark as a week of negotiations between Britain and the European Union ended prematurely, with meetings expected to resume next week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday urged Britons to act responsibly when pubs reopen this weekend and not to blow the collective effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The latest phase in a gradual reopening of the British economy on Saturday will see pubs in England open for the first time since mid-March, as well as restaurants, museums, hotels and other businesses.
The historic slump across British businesses levelled off last month as some of the economy reopened following an easing of the coronavirus lockdown, a business survey showed on Friday. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 47.1 from 29.0 in May, slightly higher than a preliminary reading of 47.0 but still below the 50 threshold for growth.
Travel insurance policies will adapt to include provisions that allow travel overseas to selected countries under newly relaxed quarantine rules, British transport minister Grant Shapps said on Friday. "I think what we will find from discussions with the travel industry and insurers is that the insurance market will adjust to put provisions in for those countries," he told Times Radio.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke in May with Turkey's central bank chief, records released by the U.S. central bank on Thursday showed, as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic was putting enormous pressure on the Middle Eastern country's economy, and its currency. Powell's calendar is silent on the contents of the half-hour May 1 phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Murat Uysay.
France’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had spoken to Turkey’s envoy to refute “inaccurate and bias” claims he made during a hearing with French senators on Wednesday.
Inflation expectations for the year-end increased slightly last month, while those for the next 12 months declined, the Turkish central bank said on Thursday in minutes of last week's monetary policy committee meeting.
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