Persimmon cancels dividend and begins shutdown of sites March 25, 2020 Persimmon is the latest housebuilder to cancel its dividend in an attempt to conserve cash as coronavirus uncertainty hits sales. The housebuilder said the period of uncertainty will lead to a delay in the timing of legal completions, a rise in cancellation rates and a material slowdown in new sales for Persimmon. As such the [...]
Coronavirus to bring UK house prices growth to ‘juddering halt’ March 25, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak is set to bring UK house prices to a “juddering halt” in the coming months, a top economist warned today. UK house prices fell 1.1 per cent between December and January. But they were 1.3 per cent up on the previous year, data released today showed. The Office for National Statistics said [...]
ECB’s Christine Lagarde asked Eurozone to consider joint ‘coronabonds’ March 25, 2020 European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde asked Eurozone finance ministers yesterday to seriously consider launching joint “coronabonds” to help countries in the currency area which have been put under stress by the coronavirus outbreak. However, the idea of issuing joint debt for the whole of the euro area was opposed by Germany, the Netherlands [...]
Milestones for ending Libor will be hit by coronavirus, says City watchdog March 25, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will make it harder for some firms to meet some of the milestones for transitioning away from Libor, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, is an interest rate benchmark used in contracts worth around £355 trillion globally. The rate was widely discredited after banks were [...]
Government and Bank of England urge banks to keep lending despite coronavirus uncertainty March 25, 2020 British banks must continue to provide loans during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure that previously viable companies do not fail due to the crisis, the government and Bank of England said. In a joint letter to the chief executives of major banks, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and the interim chief [...]
Researchers launch Covid-19 symptom tracker in the UK March 25, 2020 A symptom tracker app that has been designed to identify the spread of coronavirus has been launched in the UK. The Covid Symptom Tracker asks users to fill in data including age, sex and postcode as well as questions on existing medical conditions. The app is a collaboration between researchers at King’s College London, health [...]
There’s one way to get our liberty back: Test, test, test March 25, 2020 Covid-19 has achieved much during its brief reign of terror on this planet thus far. The virus has physically infected people around the globe, showing that humanity is one family after all. Hardly a country in the world stands untouched by its ravages, even if some have been harder hit than others. Such has been [...]
One-third of Tube staff off sick as Underground trains still packed March 25, 2020 Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged more Londoners to stay at home today amid the coronavirus lockdown as he repeated his call for the government to ban construction work in the capital. Khan warned London’s Tube and bus transport network is approaching breaking point, with almost a third of Transport for London (TfL) workers off sick [...]
Over 400,000 volunteer to help NHS tackle coronavirus March 25, 2020 The number of people volunteering to help the NHS tackle the coronavirus pandemic has surged past 400,000, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Speaking at Number 10’s daily press conference on the outbreak, Johnson said some 405,000 people had put themselves forward for the scheme within 24 hours of a government appeal. Read more: Coronavirus may [...]
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