Coronavirus: Calls for price controls dismissed as ‘economically illiterate’ April 10, 2020 Economists have hit back at Which? after the consumer watchdog said that the government should enforce price controls on certain items to prevent so-called “price gouging” during the coronavirus pandemic. The calls came after the consumer group said it had found that items such as handwash, cleaning products, and baby formula were selling at vastly [...]
Coronavirus: UK consumers ease up on stockpiling in run up to Easter April 10, 2020 UK consumers spent an additional £83m on groceries last week, but sales are down by 2.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, suggesting the nation has eased up on stockpiling. Grocery sales in the UK have increased significantly over the past weeks, as a result of stockpiling, amid health fears around the [...]
Coronavirus: Universities call for state aid with income set to plunge April 10, 2020 The UK’s universities have written to the government to request financial assistance as they brace for an estimated £800m drop in income this academic year. In an open letter sent to the chancellor and the education secretary, sector body Universities UK warned that higher education establishments could lose as much as £7bn in international student [...]
Renault to seek loans of up to €5bn to protect against coronavirus April 10, 2020 The chairman of French car giant Renault has said that the firm could seek loans of up to €5bn to protect it against damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on French radio, Jean-Dominique Senard said: “We are working on the idea of bank loans that would be guaranteed by the state and later reimbursed. This [...]
EU leaders agree additional €500bn coronavirus package April 10, 2020 Late last night EU governments have agreed an additional €500bn (£438.6bn) package to support their coronavirus-ravaged economies in a bid to stave off a steep recession. The deal was forced through by the bloc’s economic heavyweights France and Germany, which overcame opposition from the Netherlands regarding attaching economic conditions to emergency credit to be given [...]
Foreign Office to bring 3,000 stranded UK nationals back from India April 10, 2020 The Foreign Office has chartered 12 more flights to bring around 3,000 UK nationals back from India as repatriation efforts continue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The new flights come in addition to seven that have already been set up, meaning a total number of 5,000 UK citizens will be brought home from [...]
Oil prices fall as Opec production cut deal hangs in balance April 10, 2020 Oil prices have dropped sharply overnight despite a tentative agreement between oil cartel Opec and Russia to cut production by 10m barrels per day, roughly 20 per cent of their output. Discussions will resume today, with the negotiations hinging on whether Mexico decides to join in with the cuts, which it has thus far balked [...]
Dominic Raab: Still ‘too early’ to lift lockdown restrictions April 9, 2020 The government has said that it is still too early to lift lockdown restrictions across the UK, urging people again not to travel over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson while the prime minister remains in intensive care, said that although the early signs were that [...]
Opec closes in on record deal with Russia to cut oil production by 20m barrels a day April 9, 2020 Oil producer cartel Opec is in talks with Russia about cutting production by 20m barrels per day, roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply, in a bid to end their price war and support the market. Sources from both sides told Reuters that the cuts, which are at least 5m barrels per day [...]
Coronavirus: US stocks rise as Fed intervenes again April 9, 2020 US stocks have opened higher today after the US Federal Reserve committed an extra $2.3 trillion (£1.84 trillion) to shore up the struggling economy. The S&P 500 rose two per cent, the Dow Jones climbed nearly 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq opened 0.9 per cent up. The rise means that the S&P 500 has [...]
