BP to write off up to $17.5bn after oil price crash June 15, 2020 BP is set to write off up to $17.5bn (£13.9bn) from the value of its assets after the oil price crash earlier this year, as the oil major revises its long-term energy price forecasts. The London-headquartered firm said it would incur writedowns of around $13bn to $17.5bn in the second quarter of 2020. BP said [...]
Bezos open to testifying before Congress on anti-competitive behaviour June 15, 2020 Amazon has told US politicians it will make chief executive Jeff Bezos available to testify before Congress as part of a widespread antitrust investigation into Big Tech. The e-commerce giant had previously resisted calls for Bezos to appear before lawmakers, prompting threats from members of the House Judiciary Committee to force him to testify. A [...]
Coronavirus: 38 more people die as total reaches 41,736 June 15, 2020 A further 38 people have died of coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health confirmed today, meaning the total death toll has reached 41,736. In addition, 1,056 more people have tested positive for the disease, meaning that there have now been 296,857 cases recorded in this country. The number of new fatalities, which is [...]
Robert Jenrick looks to publish documents on ‘unlawful’ planning decision June 15, 2020 Under fire housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said he would seek to publish documents related to his controversial decision to approve a £1bn housing development. Jenrick told MPs today that he would “take advice” from his department’s top civil servant on “what further documentation we might be able to publish”. The housing secretary has come [...]
Microsoft’s Github drops ‘slave’ and ‘master’ terms amid protests June 15, 2020 Code repository giant Github has said it is ditching parts of traditional software jargon to avoid causing offence as anti-racism protests continue worldwide. Chief executive Nat Friedman said Github is developing a transition away from “master” — a term for the main version of code — to something more neutral. As the world’s largest website [...]
Jaguar Land Rover falls to half a billion loss in final quarter June 15, 2020 Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) fell to a £501m loss in the fourth quarter, it was announced today, as the coronavirus hammered unit sales. Before the pandemic hit in the last period, JLR said that it had been on track to hit its financial targets after returning to profit in the second and third [...]
Ikea to repay furlough wages June 15, 2020 Ikea has announced its plan to repay salaries issued by international governments under furlough schemes, as the furniture giant’s stores start to reopen around the world. The Swedish-based retailer is set to repay nine governments, including the US, Ireland and Spain, as it said it feels “hopeful” about trade returning to pre-coronavirus levels. Although Ikea [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Is retail investor surge cause for caution? June 15, 2020 | City Talk With a combination of resurgent markets, seemingly ebullient retail investors and a bleak economic outlook, it may be prudent to tread carefully. It’s an old investment cliché that when your taxi driver starts giving you share tips, it’s time to sell. As someone who has been on the receiving end of cabbie investment advice during [...]
High street footfall jumps 50 per cent as shops reopen for business June 15, 2020 Britain’s high streets have enjoyed a 52 per cent jump in footfall this morning, after shops opened their doors for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March. So-called non-essential retailers reopened this morning after the much-anticipated easing of lockdown measures by the government. According to Springboard data, footfall across all retail destinations [...]
Germany to take stake in coronavirus vaccine firm June 15, 2020 Germany will take a 23 per cent stake in unlisted biotech firm Curevac, which is working on a coronavirus vaccine, finance minister Peter Altmaier confirmed today. The state will pay €300m for the stake, which gives the firm a valuation of €1.3bn. The move, which Reuters first reported earlier today, came after attempts by the [...]