City calls for deeper tax relief as UK sinks into recession August 12, 2020 Business groups have called on the government to take “bold action” after the UK economy plunged into recession last quarter as GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent between April and June, the biggest single quarter decline on record. With vast swathes of the economy closed due to the coronavirus lockdowns, activity flatlined in April, before [...]
Tui agrees €1.2bn rescue package with German government August 12, 2020 Holiday firm Tui has agreed a €1.2bn (£1.1bn) rescue deal with the German government to give it the cash it needs to keep trading during the coronavirus pandemic. The virus has decimated the holiday market, with widespread travel restrictions and grounded airlines leading to an unprecedented collapse in demand. The majority of the funding will [...]
Balfour Beatty swings to loss as coronavirus shuts down construction in UK August 12, 2020 Shares in construction firm Balfour Beatty fell 4.4 per cent this morning after the company posted a £24m loss for the first half. The FTSE 250 firm said that the coronavirus pandemic, which hampered work at its building sites, was behind the loss. The figures Balfour Beatty swung from a £64m underlying profit for the [...]
Rishi Sunak says ‘hard times are here’ as UK plunges into worst recession on record August 12, 2020 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today warned that “hard times are here” after the UK’s GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent in the last three months, plunging it into the worst recession on record. Speaking to Sky News, Sunak warned that “many more people” would lose their jobs as a result of the recession, [...]
UK falls into worst recession after record 20.4 per cent GDP plunge August 12, 2020 UK GDP shrank a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter to plunge the country into its largest recession on record as the coronavirus pandemic decimated economies around the world. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the economy is now 22.1 per cent smaller than it was at the end of 2019. [...]
Avast pushes up guidance after working from home boost August 12, 2020 Avast said that a “strong performance” had seen it trade in line with expectations in the first half of 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. The cybersecurity firm said that it expected revenue for the full year to be at the top end of previous guidance, boosted by widespread working from home requirements. Shares in the [...]
Four charts that show how badly the pandemic has hit UK jobs August 11, 2020 The largest number of people lost jobs in the UK in one quarter since the height of the financial crisis, official statistics showed today. According to data from the ONS, 32.9m people aged 16 years and over are currently in employment, 220,000 fewer than the previous quarter. That’s the single largest decrease since May to [...]
Revolut trebles loss as digital bank continues to expand customer base August 11, 2020 Digital banking firm Revolut trebled its loss last year as the fintech firm took on three times as many staff to handle its continued expansion. The UK’s most valuable fintech said it booked a £104.7m loss in the 12 months ended 31 December, up from £34.1m the previous year. At the end of December, revenue [...]
Chinese car sales surge for fourth consecutive month in July August 11, 2020 Sales of Chinese cars jumped 16 per cent year on year last month in the fourth consecutive month of gains as the world’s biggest auto market kicks back into gear after the coronavirus shutdown. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales rose to 2.11m units in July. However, for the [...]
UK unemployment: 730,000 Brits lose their jobs in lockdown August 11, 2020 Around 730,000 people have lost their jobs in the UK since lockdown began in March, official statistics showed today, in the largest quarterly slump in employment since 2009. Since June, a further 114,000 people became unemployed, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) added. The UK unemployment rate stands at 3.9 per cent for the prior [...]
