Andrew Bailey: Bank of England will take ‘prompt action’ over coronavirus if needed March 16, 2020 New Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has pledged to take more “prompt action” when needed to tackle the economic fallout from coronavirus, raising the prospect of another interest rate cut. Speaking for the first time as governor after replacing Mark Carney today, Bailey emphasised in a BBC interview the “strong coordination among central bank” [...]
O2 pairs up with Disney Plus to be its UK mobile network distributor March 16, 2020 O2 has agreed a deal with Disney to be the exclusive mobile network distributor for Disney Plus, a week ahead of its launch. New and upgrading pay monthly customers will be able to get six months of Disney Plus, on O2. Mark Evans, CEO of O2, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Disney to bring [...]
LSL abandons Countrywide merger amid coronavirus concerns March 16, 2020 LSL Property Services has pulled out of a potential £500m merger with Countrywide, terminating a deal that would have created the UK’s biggest estate agent, amid market uncertainty due to the outbreak of coronavirus. LSL, which owns Your Move and upmarket chain Marsh & Parsons, did not give a reason for its decision this morning, [...]
Coronavirus: TfL set to lose £500m from decline in passengers March 16, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) is expecting to lose up to £500m from the impact of coronavirus and will ask the government for financial support. In the past week, passenger numbers on the Tube were down by 19 per cent year-on-year, while bus passenger numbers fell by 10 per cent. The transport body said the figures [...]
Sign of the times: Tinned gin in and fruit pies out of UK inflation basket March 16, 2020 Self-tanning products, gin in a tin, reusable mugs and gluten-free cereals have been added to the basket of goods used to calculate inflation as Brits go eco-friendly and health-conscious. Meanwhile, frozen imported legs of lamb, fruit pies and frozen chicken breasts have been chucked in the bin to better reflect consumers’ changing tastes. The Office [...]
EU rejects UK’s call for quick agreement on financial services equivalence March 16, 2020 The EU’s head of financial regulation has rejected the UK’s calls for the City’s future access to the bloc’s markets to be settled by the end of June, warning that Brussels’ decision will be based on the extent Britain wants to deviate from EU rules. UK chancellor Rishi Sunak last month called on the EU [...]
Funeral company Dignity one of the leading risers on London Stock Exchange amid coronavirus fears March 16, 2020 Funeral company Dignity was one of the leading risers on the London Stock Exchange this morning in a bleak pointer to who investors think could do well out of the coronavirus epidemic. Dignity was up 2.5 per cent at 333p this morning, amid a stock market rout that came despite a dramatic intervention by the [...]
Apple fined $1.2bn by French antitrust authorities March 16, 2020 US technology giant Apple has been fined $1.2bn (£958m) by antitrust authorities in France. This is one of the largest fines the body has ever handed down. Two French wholesalers were also fined for running the cartel with Apple which exploited the company’s dependence on re-sellers. Tech Data and Ingram Micro received fines of 76.1 [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher’s shares dive on European store closures March 16, 2020 Shares in B&Q owner Kingfisher plunged this morning after the DIY retailer warned that sales were expected to take a hit as stores closed across Europe due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The firm’s share price dropped more than 19 per cent after it was forced to shutter 221 of its Castorama and Brico Depot [...]
Halfords closes its cycling businesses as it pivots to online March 16, 2020 Halfords has announced the closure of two of its cycling businesses as it focuses its attention on its online operations. The retailer is closing the operations of Cycle Republic and the Boardman Performance Centre following a strategic review of the group’s cycling businesses. Halfords said it was closing the low-returning and stock intensive business next [...]