Softbank warns of historic $16.7bn loss after coronavirus and bad bets April 14, 2020 Softbank expects to lose $16.7bn (£13.3bn) on tech startups it has invested in through its Vision Fund this year due to coronavirus. The Japanese company blamed the coronavirus pandemic for a “deteriorating market environment” as it booked its first loss in over 20 years. Softbank has also made some bad bets outside its $100bn Vision [...]
Coronavirus: Optimism in financial services craters even before impact of Covid-19 fully felt April 14, 2020 A major survey of the financial services sector showed a collapse in confidence across the industry in March, even before the full force of Britain’s lockdown measures came into effect. The CBI/PwC survey saw only 12 per cent of firms say they were more optimistic about the overall business situation compared with three months ago, [...]
Labour chaos: Party launches investigation into leaked report April 13, 2020 Labour will launch an independent investigation into an internal report that has sparked vicious factional infighting. An 860-page dossier that was reportedly compiled to submit to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) investigation into antisemitism in the party was leaked last night. The report will now not be submitted to the EHRC, but it [...]
Government ‘does not expect’ UK social distancing measures to be eased April 13, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has confirmed the government “does not expect” to lift its social distancing measures at this week’s review. Boris Johnson put the UK into effective lockdown last month and said it would be reviewed on a three-weekly basis. Speaking at today’s daily press briefing, Raab said: “This week Sage (the Scientific Advisory [...]
NMC Health administrators appoint new board of directors April 13, 2020 NMC Health’s administrators have replaced the board of the scandal-hit healthcare chain in a bid to improve governance. Consultancy firm Alvarez and Marshal have dismissed the previous board and replaced them with four non-executive directors to “provide more robust governance and oversee the work with the management teams”. Alvarez and Marshal were appointed as administrators [...]
Firms rush to 3D print face masks to meet NHS PPE demand April 13, 2020 Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep frontline NHS staff safe in the ongoing coronavirus crisis, hospitals have turned to the 3D printer community for vital safety gear. The UK’s 3D printing firms and the wider 3D printing community have had orders for hundreds of thousands of PPE gear, such as face [...]
Coronavirus: U-turn on Huawei’s 5G involvement would be ‘disservice’ to UK April 13, 2020 Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has said the government would be doing a “disservice” to Britain if its role in the country’s 5G rollout was disrupted. Boris Johnson decided in January to allow Huawei to supply non-core elements of the UK’s 5G network, going against decisions made by fellow Five Eyes security partners Australia and the [...]
UK GDP could fall by 30 per cent in second quarter April 13, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reportedly told ministers to expect GDP to fall by as much as 30 per cent between April and June. The government’s draconian social distancing measures will be reviewed next week, with an extension considered a formality. The coronavirus lockdown has already begun to bite the UK economy, with activity in the [...]
Exclusive: Sadiq Khan says Londoners neglected by coronavirus self-employed package April 13, 2020 Sadiq Khan has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak to demand more financial help is given to the capital’s self-employed workers amidst findings that one-in-three self-employed Londoners will not receive any assistance. The London mayor’s letter, written to Sunak and business secretary Alok Sharma, claims that up to 290,000 Londoners, 12 per cent of the capital’s [...]
Businesses still waiting on £10bn of coronavirus grants April 13, 2020 Thousands of UK businesses are still waiting for £10bn of government grants to be handed over as calls grow louder for the Treasury to expand its set of coronavirus relief measures. Figures from the Local Government Authority show that £1bn of grants have been awarded to 100,000 small businesses, but that many more are still [...]