Coronavirus: The banks must step up to the plate April 6, 2020 It’s all down to the banks, now. Not necessarily a phrase to induce confidence a mere eleven years after the banking crisis, but it is true. The Chancellor has pulled out all the stops to provide support mechanisms for companies and employees during the Covid -19 crisis. His rapid actions in the first phase [...]
Coronavirus shows the value of circuit breakers April 6, 2020 Market volatility is back with a vengeance. We’ve not seen this level of trading activity since 1987 and it has presented fresh challenges to global markets. Back in 1987, the trading infrastructure failed to cope, and the collapse of equities overwhelmed the trading communication systems of the time, which caused outages and left orders unfinished. [...]
Coronavirus: Angling Direct secures new credit facility to cope with outbreak April 6, 2020 Fishing supplies retailer Angling Direct announced this morning it has secured a new credit facility to help it cope with the impact of coronavirus. The company has agreed a £2.5m credit facility with Natwest after it was forced to furlough staff and close all of its stores after the UK entered a coronavirus lockdown. Angling [...]
Coronavirus: The Restaurant Group boss to take 40 per cent pay cut April 6, 2020 The boss of Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group will take a 40 per cent pay cut as the casual dining company battles the financial impact of coronavirus. Chief executive officer Andy Hornby, who joined the company in August last year, will also forego his bonus of £98,000. The Restaurant Group finance chief Kirk Davis has [...]
Coronavirus: What Olympians can teach us about working from home (seriously) April 6, 2020 After spending four years laser-focused on a single goal, last week world class athletes woke up to the news that the Olympic Games has been postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Athletes will now have to keep up the momentum until June 2021 which will no doubt take some readjusting and a fresh [...]
Coronavirus: Retail funds might surprise the doomsayers April 6, 2020 A month ago, it would have been near impossible to predict the speed with which markets returns would fall as investors reacted to a spate of lockdowns across Europe and the US. As more and more countries are caught in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic output in a number of sectors has effectively [...]
Ladbrokes owner GVC scraps dividend but halves coronavirus profit hit April 6, 2020 Betting giant GVC has cancelled its interim dividend over coronavirus concerns, but has also halved the hit it expects to take from the global pandemic. The UK coronavirus outbreak “significantly reduced” GVC’s revenues from mid-March, the company warned today as it scrapped its second interim dividend. Instead it will conserve cash, after retail like-for-like net [...]
UK coronavirus: Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in hospital April 6, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in hospital this morning with a high temperature after first testing positive for coronavirus 10 days ago. “The PM is still at hospital,” a government source told Reuters. “He spent the night in hospital.” Johnson was taken to hospital last night with a high temperature for additional coronavirus tests. He [...]
Oil prices slip on delayed talks but stocks rise as coronavirus cases slow April 6, 2020 Oil prices dipped on Monday after talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut output were postponed, while a slowdown in coronavirus deaths and cases saw stocks jump. Brent crude fell as much as $4 overnight after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed the negotiations, which were expected to go ahead today, to Thursday. Brent crude [...]
UK house prices set to drop as sales plummet during pandemic April 6, 2020 UK house prices are set to fall three per cent this year as market activity grinds to a halt during the coronavirus crisis, forecasts published today revealed. House sales are expected to plunge 38 per cent year on year to 734,000 transactions assuming the current lockdown remains in place until the end of May, according [...]