Coronavirus crisis could affect 59m jobs across Europe April 20, 2020 The devastating economic effects of the coronavirus lockdown could affect 59m jobs across Europe, according to a reporting published today by consultancy giant McKinsey. The research said 26 per cent of total jobs across the 27 member state of the European Union plus the UK could be affected by reductions in hours or pay, temporary [...]
Coronavirus: British tech firms welcome government’s £1.25bn startup package April 20, 2020 The UK tech sector has hailed a “bold intervention” after the government unveiled a £1.25bn coronavirus support package for startups and research and development firms. The Treasury today announced a new £500m loan scheme for high-growth startups and £750m of grants for small and medium sized businesses focused on research and development. The support package, [...]
UK to trial using Covid-19 survivors’ blood plasma for treatment April 20, 2020 The United Kingdom is preparing to collect the blood from Covid-19 survivors to see if it can help create a treatment for the infection. British doctors will investigate if convalescent plasma transfusions could improve an infected patient’s speed of recovery and chances of survival. “NHS Blood and Transplant is preparing to collect Covid-19 convalescent plasma [...]
Future completes TI Media takeover as Covid-19 hits magazine sales April 20, 2020 Publishing group Future today said it had completed its takeover of rival TI Media but warned of job cuts as the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on magazine sales. The competition watchdog last week cleared Future’s £140m offer for TI Media — which owns titles such as Country Life and Marie Claire UK — subject [...]
Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods boosts sales as shoppers stockpile sweet treats April 20, 2020 Shares in Premier Foods jumped almost 25 per cent in early trading today after the firm said it had experienced a sharp rise in demand during the coronavirus outbreak. The Mr Kipling maker said it expected sales to rise roughly 3.6 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter and 10.5 per cent in [...]
Coronavirus: London finance jobseekers surge by 43 per cent April 20, 2020 The number of London finance professionals seeking employment has surged over 40 per cent in the first three months of 2020 even as coronavirus hit salaries and vacancies, new data showed today. Jobseekers in the UK finance industry rocketed 43 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2019, according to Morgan McKinley’s Spring London [...]
Coronavirus: Here comes the startup chancellor April 20, 2020 Startups are the economy’s ‘department for the future.’ Their job is to future-proof all the other sectors – from retail and banking through ecommerce to public services. They are vital to the UK’s post-Brexit, post-Covid-19 future. They are also among its most vulnerable. Look up ‘start-up’ in the Cambridge Dictionary and the first example of [...]
UK retail parks fare better in lockdown than high streets and shopping centres April 20, 2020 The number of shoppers visiting the UK’s retail destinations plunged by a record amount last month due to coronavirus, however a surge in supermarket demand helped to shield retail parks. UK retail footfall plummeted 44.7 per cent in March due to the mandatory lockdown which restricted movement and forced all non-essential stores to close. In [...]
The Long Read: The coronavirus loan scheme risks failing the people it was designed to help April 19, 2020 When the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, vowed that the government would do “whatever it takes” to keep businesses alive during the pandemic, the immediate reaction from corporate Britain was one of relief. The pledge to pay the wages of employees unable to work and the ambition behind the £350bn package of support (combining grants, sector-specific relief [...]
Coronavirus hits hospitality: Loan scheme leaves restaurants high and dry April 19, 2020 Ranald MacDonald is Managing Director of Boisdale’s Restaurants In newspapers, so I’m told, a cracking story is known as a “marmalade dropper,” so named because it stops you – and indeed your toast – in your tracks. And that’s exactly what Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a £330bn rescue package for British business to get through [...]