Insurer RSA posts double-digit profit rise but expects £25m coronavirus hit May 7, 2020 FTSE 100 insurer RSA today said it expected its exposure from the coronavirus pandemic to total around £25m, with claims coming from travel, wedding and event cancellation insurance. The home, motor and commercial insurer had received around 25,000 claims on which it would pay out, of which around 23,000 were travel claims, it said in [...]
The City View podcast, from City A.M., with Andy Clarke, former CEO of Asda May 7, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Asda’s former CEO, Andy Clarke, now chairman of AI-powered retail system Spoon Guru. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Andy reflects on the way in which the supermarket and grocery sector responded in the early stages of the pandemic, with panic [...]
Government misses testing target for fourth consecutive day May 6, 2020 The government has missed its target for coronavirus testing for the fourth day in the row, after just 69,463 tests were carried out yesterday. In the Downing Street daily briefing, communities secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed 69,463 tests had been carried out in the past day. More than 30,000 people have died from coronavirus in the [...]
Sadiq Khan unveils plans to transform roads for walkers and cyclists post lockdown May 6, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new plan to transform the capital’s streets to accommodate a huge increase in walking and cycling once lockdown measures lift. Under the “Street Space” initiative, pavements will be widened and extra cycle lanes put in to allow people to travel to work while maintaining social distancing. Writing in [...]
Third of UK restaurant and bar bosses expect to permanently close sites due to coronavirus May 6, 2020 Hundreds of UK restaurants, pubs and bars are expected to permanently close due to the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest survey of industry leaders. A third of hospitality executives said they will close some sites due to the pandemic, with just 36 per cent saying they will eventually reopen all of their sites for [...]
US private sector sees jobless claims spiral over 20m May 6, 2020 More than 20m US citizens were made redundant last month, a shocking jobless statistic showed today to underline the severe economic impact of coronavirus. Payroll processing body ADP today reported private sector employment plunged by 20,236,000 jobs between March and April. The jobless figures mean around 13 per cent of the 162m Americans employed in [...]
New York Times hits 6m subscribers but warns of advertising slump May 6, 2020 The New York Times has posted a record rise in new subscribers for the first quarter but warned of a slump in advertising revenue caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The newspaper added 587,000 new digital subscriptions in the first three months of the year, taking its total to more than 6m across digital and print. [...]
£2bn of ‘bounce back’ loans for SMEs approved in first 24 hours May 6, 2020 More than 69,000 so-called coronavirus bounce back loans were approved on the first day of them being made available via banks. The approvals equate to over £2bn in loans during the first 24 hours of the bounce back scheme’s launch on Monday, chancellor Rishi Sunak said today. The seven largest UK banks including HSBC, Barclays, [...]
UK draws up three-stage plan for easing coronavirus lockdown May 6, 2020 The UK has drawn up a three-point plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown, the Times reported. The government must review the lockdown by 7 May, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is worried that a speedy reopening could cause a second spike in cases. The first phase of relaxation will involve outdoor workplaces [...]
‘A matter for police’: Hancock ‘speechless’ over Professor Neil Ferguson’s lockdown breach May 6, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has said it is a “matter for the police” over whether they take action over Professor Neil Ferguson’s breach of coronavirus lockdown rules. Hancock said Ferguson made the right decision in resigning last night, after it was revealed that the Imperial College epidemiologist and government advisor had broken lockdown restrictions. The [...]