Coronavirus: Consumer confidence plunges but avoids 2008 levels March 27, 2020 Consumer sentiment has plummeted due to coronavirus, although it has yet to fall to the levels reported during the 2008 financial crisis, according to the latest research. Sentiment dropped 29 points to minus 26 between December last year and this March, the sharpest quarterly fall in more than 10 years. However it is higher than [...]
Morrisons directors quit in corporate governance row March 26, 2020 Two Morrisons non executive directors have quit, reportedly due to a disagreement over corporate governance at the supermarket. Neil Davidson, chair of the corporate compliance and responsibility committee, and Tony van Kralingen, remuneration committee chair, have stepped down and will cease to be directors from 26 and 29 April respectively. The grocer said today that [...]
Coronavirus: P&O Ferries temporarily lays off workers March 26, 2020 P&O Ferries will reportedly temporarily furlough more than 1,000 workers, using the government’s recently announced job retention scheme to pay staff during the coronavirus crisis. Workers will be paid their basic salaries, with the government funding 80 per cent and P&O topping up the rest. The English Channel operator said on Wednesday that it will [...]
International Energy Agency chief warns oil demand could sink 20 per cent March 26, 2020 Global demand for oil could fall by 20 per cent as 3 billion people around the world live in lockdown. Head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol, who made this prediction, also called on Saudi Arabia to rectify the situation. Brent crude, currently at $26 a barrel, has been driven to record lows because [...]
Dyson to make ventilators to bolster NHS supply in fight against coronavirus March 26, 2020 The government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from household appliance firm Dyson. The company said it has designed a new ventilator from scratch with engineers working “round the clock.” The government had earlier called for manufacturing firms in the UK to use their production capacity to make ventilators to counter a national shortage. However, the provision [...]
Apple could delay iPhone 12 launch ‘by months’ due to coronavirus March 26, 2020 Apple could be forced to delay the launch of iPhone 12 by up to two months as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts have warned. In a note published yesterday, JP Morgan said the launch could be pushed back by one or two months due to disruption to the firm’s supply chain. Travel restrictions [...]
Mitsubishi considers Renault investment to prop up Nissan alliance March 26, 2020 Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi is considering investing in Renault in one of a number of schemes being discussed to prop up the French carmaker’s alliance with Nissan. French media reported today that Mitsubishi was considering taking a 10 per cent stake in Renault, with other options including restructuring and cost savings plans. Sources told Les Echos [...]
Coronavirus: Retailers pause online shopping over safety fears March 26, 2020 Retailers have started to close down their online operations as well as physical stores in response to the coronavirus outbreak, citing concerns over the safety of their warehouse workers. High street chains Next, Moss Bros and River Island have today temporarily closed their internet shopping services, despite government guidance that online retailers can continue to [...]
Self-employed coronavirus stimulus: Rishi Sunak to pay Britain’s freelancers up to £2,500 a month March 26, 2020 The government will pay 80 per cent of self-employed workers’ wages, up to £2,500 a month, to deal with the economic fallout from coronavirus. The package was announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak today, giving self-employed workers the same support announced for traditional workers last week. It will be available for any self-employed person who has [...]
Coronavirus: Airports hit back at Rishi Sunak over aviation rescue u-turn March 26, 2020 The UK’s airports have hit back at chancellor Rishi Sunak’s choice to “row back on [his] vital decision to stand by the aviation sector”, saying that the chancellor seems to have “little recognition” of the fact that airports have different operating models to airlines. On Tuesday Sunak said that state aid would only be given [...]