UK Treasury is expected to unveil a sweeping rescue package for start-up businesses – Telegraph

The UK Telegraph is reporting that the “Treasury is expected to unveil a sweeping rescue package for start-up businesses within days as criticism mounts over the emergency support on offer for companies battling through the lockdown.”

Lead paragraphs

Ministers are rushing ahead with a bailout plan for loss-making companies whose funding pools have dried up since normal life was put on hold, according to two senior sources in the tech industry.

It came as the Government’s furlough scheme was extended to support up to 200,000 more workers at risk of losing their jobs.

Details of the start-up rescue package are yet to be finalised, although it is thought to centre around a co-investment strategy – where investors continue to back fast-growing firms but their funding is matched by the taxpayer…

Meanwhile, earlier Sam Woods, deputy governor of the Bank of England, said on Wednesday that they are at the beginning of a significant downturn in the economy. 

“Banks have enough capital to make government COVID-19 loans, issues are operational bottlenecks,” Woods explained. “The government’s lending schemes cover about 80% of firms by turnover and employment, hard to get total coverage.”

More on that here:

•  BoE’s Woods: We are at the beginning of a significant downturn

• GBP/USD bulls capped at 200-DMA, eyes on 20-DMA

Overall, the UK’s current account deficit leaves the pound vulnerable to deteriorating economic data and the US dollar will likely attract a bid as safe-haven flows look for refuge in US treasuries.