Retailers suffer ‘another month of struggle’ in May amid coronavirus lockdown June 9, 2020 Retailers endured a second consecutive monthly drop in sales in May, as the high street continued to suffer from the effects of the coronavirus lockdown. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales fell 5.9 per cent last month compared to May 2019. The monthly health check found record growth in online sales, as retailers continued [...]
UK coronavirus deaths near 52,000, tally of official data shows June 9, 2020 UK coronavirus deaths have broken past yet another milestone to hit 51,766, according to a tally of official sources put together by Reuters. Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales hit 45,748 up to 29 May, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Coupled with Northern Ireland data up to 29 May, and [...]
Q&A: Why do markets rise even when the outlook is bleak? June 9, 2020 | City Talk The global economy is on track for its worst recession in nearly 100 years, yet April was the market’s best monthly performance in three decades and the S&P 500 has just turned positive for 2020. Why? The first quarter of 2020 has been tough for the global economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [...]
Coronavirus: Cabinet ministers ‘push to cut two metre social distancing rule’ June 9, 2020 A majority of Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers are said to be putting pressure on Downing Street to relax the two-metre social distancing rule to contain coronavirus. The Prime Minister, who will chair a cabinet meeting today, is thought to be sympathetic to calls to dispense with the two-metre rule, amid a clamour from the hospitality [...]
London reports no new coronavirus deaths since early days of pandemic June 9, 2020 London reported no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since the start of the pandemic yesterday, NHS England statistics show. The capital reported no new deaths in a 24-hour period until 5pm on Sunday. The city did see “a small number of people” die from Covid-19 over the weekend, but their deaths have not [...]
BoE: Furlough means UK faces record labour market inactivity June 8, 2020 The UK is facing what appears to be a record level of inactivity in its labour market as huge numbers of people are on furlough or facing unemployment due to Covid-19, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. “We’ve seen activity across the economy collapse, and we’ve seen a rapid rise in inactivity among [...]
Ifo: German industry predicts summer-long production slump June 8, 2020 German factories’ coronavirus slump is set to continue throughout summer, though the drop in production will not be as steep, according to a key Ifo survey out today. The Ifo index of production survey showed Germany’s manufacturers believe their severe coronavirus downturn will continue until at least September. They predict a hit of minus 20.4 [...]
World shares rise as shock US jobs increase spurs recovery hopes June 8, 2020 World share prices edged higher on Monday after a surprise recovery in US employment provided optimism that economies could quickly recover after lockdown. Oil prices erased earlier gains to stand almost flat after OPEC and its allies, including Russia, agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July. U.S. S&P 500 futures [...]
UK coronavirus death toll passes 40,000 June 5, 2020 The official UK coronavirus death toll today rose past 40,000 after 357 more deaths were recorded. As of 5pm yesterday, 40,261 people have died from the disease, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. The figures showed that just over 5.2m tests have now been carried out, with 283,311 people testing positive for [...]
Bombardier to cut 2,500 jobs as Covid-19 hits aviation demand June 5, 2020 Manufacturing giant Bombardier today said it will cut 2,500 jobs in its aviation division as the coronavirus crisis sparks a slump in demand. The Canadian company said the cuts, which equate to roughly 11 per cent of its aviation unit, were necessary due to a sharp fall in orders amid the Covid-19 lockdown. “Over the [...]