FTSE 100 LIVE: UK economy facing brutal Autumn crunch after banks end vital mortgage help

The Financial Conduct Authority has changed its rules, meaning that after October 31, people financially affected by the economic impact from COVID-19 will not be able to seek help with their mortgage payments. But this is the same day the furlough programme, which has been subsidising up to 80 perccent of wages for workers that are not working. There are fears there will be huge numbers of redundancies from companies no longer able to afford those who were being helped by the tax-payer. 

Ben Jones, the CBI’s principal economist, told the Telegraph: “As we head into the autumn, the UK needs a bold plan to protect jobs as the job retention scheme draws to an end, to support the services sector.”

And Malcolm Le May , from lender company Provident Financial, added around 2.4million more people could be blocked from borrowing from mainstream banks.

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6.38am update: South Korea central bank cuts 2020 GDP outlook

The Bank of Korea kept the seven-day repurchase rate at a record low of 0.5 percent KROCRT=ECI, in an unanimous and widely expected decision, after 75 basis points of rate cuts this year.

It said gross domestic product would likely shrink 1.3 percent in 2020 – the biggest contraction in more than two decades – from a previous forecast for a 0.2 percent decline.

Governor Lee Ju-yeol said monetary policy needed to be “actively” used if the downturn worsened, reiterating the central bank was open to more rate cuts and was willing to expand the use of other monetary tools.

“There is room to respond with rate cuts,” Lee told a press conference livestreamed via Youtube.

source: express.co.uk