US jobless claims rise for first time in four months as coronavirus spreads July 23, 2020 The number of Americans making new jobless claims climbed last week for the first time since the economy began to crash at the end of March, in a sign the US’s recovery is cooling off. Slightly more than 1.4m Americans made a new jobless claim last week, up 109,000 from the week before. It was [...]
Fear of coronavirus likely to ‘drag’ on UK economy, says BoE official July 23, 2020 People’s fear of catching coronavirus is likely to stop them from going out to spend normally and “drag on the economy,” a Bank of England policymaker has said. Jonathan Haskel, a member of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), said the “path of recovery” therefore depends on public and private health measures bringing coronavirus under [...]
Record UK manufacturing slump continues but optimism grows July 23, 2020 The decline in UK manufacturing orders eased somewhat in July but the sector remained mired in its deepest downturn on record, according to a closely watched survey. The CBI industrial trends survey’s gauge of total orders rose to minus 46 in July from minus 58 in June. That was its highest reading since March but [...]
Watchdog slams government for lack of pandemic economic plan July 23, 2020 Parliament’s financial watchdog has slammed the government for its failure to plan for the economic consequences of a pandemic, saying it was “astonished” that the UK was not better prepared. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Treasury waited until mid-March to design schemes to support the economy. That was despite it [...]
Oxford vaccine could be rolled out by end of the year July 21, 2020 The lead developer of the University of Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine has said that it is possible that it will be rolled out by the end of the year. Speaking to the BBC, Professor Sarah Gilbert however cautioned that there was “absolutely no certainty” that this would be the case. Yesterday scientists hailed a major breakthrough [...]
Fire breaks out at Bournemouth beach July 20, 2020 Firefighters are battling a large fire that has broken out on a beach in Bournemouth this afternoon. The fire has affected three beach huts and around 100 sq metres of heath next to the busy beach, authorities said. Photos and videos posted to social media showed beach-goers watching on as firefighters battle the blaze. Local [...]
Oxford coronavirus vaccine safe and triggers ‘strong’ immune response, study finds July 20, 2020 The University of Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine has been deemed safe and induces a “strong response” from the immune system, a new study has found. An initial trial of 1,077 people showed that the injection produced antibodies and white blood cells in patients. The vaccine was “safe, tolerated, and immunogenic”, the study said, with a single [...]