Seize the opportunities of carbon capture technology March 23, 2020 Right now, the government’s only focus is getting the country through the current coronavirus pandemic. But once we are through the worst, we will turn once again to tackling another global crisis: climate change. That the government claims to take the climate crisis seriously is impossible to deny. The 2050 target for carbon neutrality is [...]
McDonalds, Topshop and New Look close stores due to coronavirus March 23, 2020 High street retailers have begun to shut stores in response to the coronavirus pandemic in the UK. Topshop, New Look and H&M are among the major UK retail chains to temporarily shut all branches over the weekend. The government ordered all pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants to close on Friday as the public were encouraged [...]
Coronavirus could drag UK to recession worse than 2008 financial crash March 23, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak could drag the UK into a recession even more severe than the financial crash of 2008, according to new forecasts published today. The UK economy is expected to contract 2.6 per cent this year assuming the pandemic can be contained by the summer, according to KPMG’s latest quarterly economic outlook. However, a [...]
Richard Branson pledges $250m to protect jobs from coronavirus March 22, 2020 Richard Branson has pledged that his Virgin empire will invest $250m over the next few months to protect jobs from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The entrepreneur, who owns the Virgin Atlantic airline, said many of his businesses in the travel and leisure sector were in a “massive battle” to survive as flights have [...]
London Stock Exchange pushes for virtual AGMs due to coronavirus March 22, 2020 The London Stock Exchange Group is lobbying for companies to be allowed to hold remote annual general meetings during the coronavirus pandemic. LSE and other City groups are pushing for the government to make emergency amendments to the Companies Act to avoid disruption during the AGM season, Sky News reported. The broadcaster said that law [...]
Coronavirus: UK airlines await government rescue package March 22, 2020 The UK’s airlines are hopeful that the government will unveil its special package of measures to combat the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the coming days as they struggle to remain airborne due to the slump in air travel. The aviation sector remains in talks with transport secretary Grant Shapps over the shape [...]
Coronavirus: Government plots further support for self-employed March 22, 2020 The government is exploring ways to provide additional help to self-employed workers amid concerns millions of Brits have been “excluded” from financial support during the coronavirus crisis. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick today said the government was looking at ways to overcome technical challenges relating to supporting self-employed people. “It is more complicated for the self-employed [...]
Facebook and Instagram cut streaming quality amid broadband surge March 22, 2020 Facebook today said it will cut streaming quality for videos posted to its platform to help reduce the strain on broadband networks during the coronavirus outbreak. The measures will be rolled out across Europe, and also apply to Facebook-owned social media app Instagram. “We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth [...]
Deal or no deal? How coronavirus is impacting M&A March 22, 2020 Deal advisers say they fear the coronavirus crisis could stop M&A in its tracks in the UK, but predict a wave of distressed deals in the coming weeks as struggling businesses are picked up and companies band together to try and ride out the economic shutdown. KPMG’s head of deal advisory in the UK Liz [...]
Coronavirus: FCA urges companies to delay publication of preliminary results March 22, 2020 The City watchdog today urged listed companies to suspend the publication of their interim results for at least two weeks. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said: “The unprecedented events of the last couple of weeks mean that the basis on which companies are reporting and planning is changing rapidly.” It said companies needed to give [...]