FTSE drops as economic picture remains unstable

The markets keep taking two steps forward, one step back, as trading enthusiasm keeps clashing with the current economic realities across the globe, particularly after the Federal Reserve didn’t offer any words of reassurance yesterday about the state of the world’s largest economy.

In London, travel companies are back in the firing line as European countries keep going back and forth on their decisions whether to open their borders. Major tourist destination Greece was one of the first countries to start inviting foreign tourists but now the Greek opposition party is calling for the resignation of the tourism minister, arguing that the reopening of Greek borders came too soon. Also, Germany and Denmark are actively advising their citizens to reconsider or not to travel to Greece at all. This is replicated across numerous other European borders and will hamper travel during the crucial summer weeks. Carnival shares have dropped close to 10% while British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines is trading down 6.9%.

After years of trying to unify its dual structure into one main unit the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods firm Unilever decided to make the UK its main base. The company faced strong opposition from shareholders two years ago when it attempted to close its London headquarters and operate only from Netherlands, but this year shareholders will find it difficult to go against the company’s decision, not only because they will not be able to physically attend meetings but also because the erosion of value caused by the corona will outweigh all other concerns. Shares are trading 1.6% higher.

Just Eat Takeaway is in the process of becoming the world’s largest online delivery firm after making a $7.3 billion bid for Chicago-based Grubhub. The merger, if successful, will ensure Just Eat’s dominance over rivals Uber and DoorDash. Shares have initially dipped but are now nudging higher 1.%