Lockdown eased: Boris Johnson cuts two-metre rule to ‘one metre-plus’ June 23, 2020 The Prime Minister has announced that the two-metre social distancing rule will be relaxed from 4 July, when pubs, bars, cafes, art galleries, museums, hotels and cinemas are set to reopen after months of closure. Boris Johnson today said a dramatic fall in the rate of infection means “we can now safely ease the lockdown [...]
The risks are elevated, but investors have faith UK financial services can weather the storm June 23, 2020 The mood music in Brussels has changed over the last few weeks — and the financial services sector is back in the spotlight. In recent negotiations, the EU explicitly challenged the notion that Britain will be able to “cherry-pick” the benefits of the Single Market and retain its strategic position in financial services post-Brexit. With [...]
Calls for rail reform rise as cost of bailout revealed June 23, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps will appear before the transport select committee tomorrow amid growing calls for the government to use its temporary control of the railways to enact reform of the franchise system. In March, the onslaught of the coronavirus crisis prompted ministers to take the UK’s rail firms under emergency measures for six months, [...]
Londoners back Bailey pledge to reverse congestion charge June 23, 2020 Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has today submitted a petition to City Hall calling on Sadiq Khan to reverse the hike to the congestion charge. Bailey also said that he would undo the increase on the first day of his mayoralty, should he be elected next year. The petition, which has been signed by [...]
Google faces calls from staff to end tech sales to police June 23, 2020 Google employees have been circulating an internal petition to push the tech giant to stop selling its services to police forces, following similar moves from other companies. More than 1,600 employees are said to have signed the petition so far, seen by Reuters, which voiced disappointment with Google for not joining the “millions who want [...]
Coronavirus business loans hit £41bn, as approval rates stagnate June 23, 2020 British businesses have now borrowed £41bn in loans backed by guarantees from the government to cope with the impact of coronavirus, but approval rates are failing to improve. Approval rates for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) remain stuck at 51 per cent, hitting a total of £10.53bn lent so far. As of 21 [...]
Japan gives UK just six weeks to secure post-Brexit trade deal June 23, 2020 Japan has given the UK a mere six weeks in which to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, which would be one of the shortest timetables for trade negotiations in history. Tokyo’s chief negotiator Hiroshi Matsuura told the Financial Times that both parties will have to “limit their ambitions” when it comes to agreeing the deal, [...]
Tax system to the rescue: Six policy tweaks that could kickstart the economy June 23, 2020 The past three months have seen a deluge of economic, political, and legal moves that would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. As civil liberties were curtailed on a scale never seen in peacetime and ten million children were turned away from school, new hospitals were built in a matter of weeks, [...]
Profit slides at Poundland owner Pepco amid pandemic June 23, 2020 Pepco Group suffered a more than 16 per cent slide in profit in the first half of its 2020 financial year, damaged by a lack of sales during the coronavirus pandemic. The owner of Poundland reported an income of €89m (£80m) in the six months to March, having posted €116m in profit up until February. [...]
Grocery sales surge in lockdown as shoppers go online June 23, 2020 Grocery sales in the UK grew 18.9 per cent in the four weeks up to 14 June, new data has shown, as online shopping and convenience stores continued to attract shoppers through the coronavirus lockdown period. According to data firm Kantar, online sales were the main driver of the rise, increasing 91 per cent over [...]