Virgin Money delays branch closures in face of coronavirus March 29, 2020 Challenger bank Virgin Money is reviewing plans to close branches as lenders focus on mitigating the impact of the coronavirus. Hundreds of jobs earmarked for redundancy could also now be put on hold as the bank pauses branch closure plans, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Read more: Lloyds suspends 780 planned job cuts amid coronavirus [...]
Coronavirus: Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia pauses pension scheme payments March 29, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia is planning to pause payments to its pensions scheme in a bid to save cash during the coronavirus crisis. Green’s retail empire, which includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, will defer its deficit recovery contributions, after all non-essential retailers were forced to close as part of a government lockdown to slow the [...]
UK coronavirus lockdown could last until June March 29, 2020 The UK is set to to be in coronavirus lockdown until June, according to the government’s leading epidemiology adviser. Professor Neil Ferguson said it was “optimistic” that the UK’s lockdown measures would end by May, and that early June was more likely. It comes as Boris Johnson is set to write to every household in [...]
Oneweb files for bankruptcy after Softbank funding talks fall through March 29, 2020 Space broadband firm Oneweb has filed for bankruptcy and laid off most of its staff after failing to drum up additional funding from investors including largest shareholder Softbank. The London-based startup, which was building a network of satellites to provide global broadband coverage, on Friday said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in [...]
Qatar Airways says it will need state aid as cash begins to run out March 29, 2020 Qatar Airways has become the latest airline to warn that it will need state aid in order to continue flying, the carrier’s chief executive has told Reuters. The Gulf state’s flag carrier is one of few airlines to continue operating a relatively normal schedule of flights during the coronavirus crisis. In recent weeks it has [...]
Top scientists tap gamers to model spread of coronavirus March 29, 2020 The scientist whose predictions about coronavirus prompted a nationwide lockdown has teamed up with gamers to launch a simulation mapping the potential spread of the pandemic. Professor Neil Ferguson, a top data modeller at Imperial College London, is working with John Carmack, chief technology officer at Oculus VR and lead programmer on video games Wolfenstein [...]
Coronavirus tests: UK reaches 10,000 per day target March 29, 2020 The UK has reached its target of administering 10,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of this week, according to Michael Gove. The chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster said the weekly target was reached yesterday and it’s “NHS and social care frontline workers who are first in line for those new tests”. However, Gove [...]
Broadband firms to remove data caps during coronavirus crisis March 29, 2020 All UK broadband firms have agreed to remove data allowance caps during the coronavirus crisis under a new deal struck with the government. Internet service providers and mobile operators including BT/EE, Openreach, Virgin Media, Sky, O2 and Vodafone have agreed to a number of measures, effective immediately, designed to ensure all Brits have access to [...]
Coronavirus: Government sends food packages to the most vulnerable March 29, 2020 The first food packages have been sent to those who were asked by the government to isolate for 12 weeks and shield themselves from coronavirus due to being particularly vulnerable. The government has dispatched 2,000 food parcels already over this weekend to those who are unable to leave their homes because of severe health conditions [...]
Boris Johnson will write to every UK household with coronavirus advice March 28, 2020 Boris Johnson is to write to 30m households across the UK to urge them to stay at home and protect the NHS. A letter from the Prime Minister will be posted to homes across all four UK nations from next week and outline the latest coronavirus advice. Johnson will urge the public to follow the [...]