US jobless claims fall but remain at record levels October 1, 2020 The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell last week but remained higher than any time before the coronavirus pandemic. Initial jobless claims totalled 837,000 in the week ending 26 September, down from 873,000 the week prior, according to new data from the US Labor Department. The figure was lower than had [...]
Square Mile’s street closures could be made permanent October 1, 2020 The City of London Corporation is considering making its new street closures a lasting feature of the Square Mile, it was revealed today. Back in June, the governing body of London’s financial district announced a raft of changes to its streets in a bid to encourage people to return to work. These included introducing wider [...]
No refunds for railcard users despite travel restrictions October 1, 2020 More than 5.1m people who were unable to use their railcards for months due to the coronavirus pandemic will not be entitled to refunds, the government has decided. In March, passengers were told to avoid non-essential rail travel wherever possible in a bid to free up services for essential workers. Across England and Scotland, these [...]
UK food exports fall but China brings home the bacon October 1, 2020 British food and drinks exports fell for the first time since 2015 in the first half of the year, with pork the only product to see a jump in sales due to massive exports to China. A new report from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) showed that exports fell 13.8 per cent year-on-year to [...]
UK PMIs: Manufacturing recovery continues despite fresh lockdown fears October 1, 2020 Britain’s manufacturing sector continued its strong recovery from the coronavirus slump in September, although it dropped off the record pace set in August. The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers (PMI) index stood at 54.1 in September, with any score above the 50 mark indicating growth. In August, the index recorded a score of 55.2, its [...]
FTSE 100 climbs on hopes of US stimulus breakthrough October 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 opened higher earlier today as hopes that the US would approve a fresh round of stimulus measures boosted investor confidence around the world. London’s premier index initially rose 0.5 per cent, to 5,896.38 points, currently trading at 5,872.07 as US markets open. The FTSE 250 of mid cap firms rose 0.1 per [...]
Halfords shares surge a fifth as wheels keep turning October 1, 2020 Shares in Halfords jumped over 20 per cent this morning as the firm said that the continuing numbers of new people taking to two wheels meant its half year profit would be higher than previously forecast. The FTSE 250 firm, which sells motoring and cycling products and services, said that profit was now expected to [...]
Rolls-Royce shares sink 10% after it taps shareholders for £2bn in fresh funding October 1, 2020 British industrial titan Rolls-Royce shares closed down more than 10 per cent after it confirmed plans to raise £2bn from shareholders as it seeks to rebuild its battered balance sheet after Covid-19. In total, the firm unveiled a restructuring package worth £5bn in total, with plans to raise an additional £1bn from the bond market [...]
Delays to 5G rollout to cost country tens of billions, report finds October 1, 2020 Delays to the rollout of 5G could cost the country tens of billions of pounds in lost economic output, a new report has found. According to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), steps to speed up the rollout could provide the UK GDP with an extra £41bn over the next seven years. However, if delays [...]
Working from home u-turn falls on deaf ears as more staff head back to offices September 30, 2020 Employees are heading back to their workplaces in greater numbers around the UK despite Boris Johnson’s working from home u-turn last week, new data has shown. According to data specialists Huq Industries, the rate at which workers are returning to their offices since the PM’s announcement has actually picked up in four of the six [...]
