DEBATE: Is there a case for the UK government bailing out airlines in the midst of the coronavirus crisis? March 19, 2020 Is there a case for the UK government bailing out airlines in the midst of the coronavirus crisis? YES, says Rob Burgess, editor of headforpoints.com, the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website. There are many reasons not to bail out companies — it is wrong to reward stupidity, bad management, corruption, or those who failed to [...]
TfL to shut 40 Tube stations as Londoners told ‘don’t travel’ over coronavirus March 19, 2020 As many as 40 Tube stations are set to close today as London attempts to curb the spread of coronavirus across the capital. Transport for London (TfL) announced the partial shutdown of the Tube late last night, warning passengers it will come into effect from this morning. “Up to 40 London Underground stations that do [...]
It’s time to self-isolate from social media’s armchair experts March 19, 2020 You can tell whether a news story is really, properly serious by the degree to which people develop instant expertise. Back in 2008, all sorts of people who didn’t know an asset from a debt suddenly started holding forth confidently about balance sheet liabilities and CDO-Squareds. A few years later, in the wake of the [...]
Coronavirus: New York Stock Exchange to shift fully to online trading from 23 March March 18, 2020 The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will temporarily close its trading floors and move fully to electronic trading from Monday, its owner Intercontinental Exchange said after an employee and a trader were tested positive for the coronavirus. They were last in the exchange building on 13 March, the company said today. The facilities to be closed [...]
Coronavirus: National Trust to keep outdoor sites open March 18, 2020 The National Trust is putting in place measures to keep its open places accessible to the public free of charge during the coronavirus crisis. By Friday the charity is planning to have made arrangements to keep its outdoor spaces open, but will shut all houses, shops and cafes to restrict the spread of the virus [...]
Government set to use mobile signals to monitor virus outbreak March 18, 2020 The government has approached the UK’s mobile operators about using phone signals as part of its efforts to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Officials are in talks with O2, Vodafone, EE and Three over tracking data from the UK’s 84m active mobile devices to help authorities fight the pandemic. The data is anonymised — meaning individuals [...]
Coronavirus: Ocado closes website down as demand soars March 18, 2020 Online supermarket Ocado has closed its website for several days as it grapples with a surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The delivery company said it is temporarily shut until 21 March in order to “complete essential work” to make product and delivery slot distribution as “fair and accessible” as possible. In a [...]
Coronavirus: BBC overhauls broadcast plans to tackle outbreak March 18, 2020 The BBC today unveiled a raft of new measures aimed at keeping the public informed during the “unprecedented” coronavirus outbreak. Director general Tony Hall said the public service broadcaster would launch special programming on TV and radio to provide audiences with the latest information on the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of the wide-ranging changes, the [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Are opportunities beginning to emerge? March 18, 2020 | City Talk After the dramatic market falls of the last few weeks, valuations are looking more appealing. But the risk of a prolonged recession means investors should remain cautious. Last week I said valuations are still not cheap enough to warrant taking more risk. After the large falls we’ve seen this week, is this starting to change? Part of [...]
UK mobile networks suffer outages as virus sparks surge in demand March 18, 2020 Mobile phone users across the UK have reported problems with calls as operators battle to keep up with a boom in demand sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. The UK’s four network operators — O2, EE, Vodafone and Three — yesterday confirmed they were experiencing problems with some voice calls. It comes as millions of Brits [...]