Coronavirus: World leaders express support for Boris Johnson after hospitalisation April 7, 2020 World leaders have expressed their support for Boris Johnson after the Prime Minister was admitted to intensive care last night. Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital on Sunday evening with persistent symptoms of Covid-19. Downing Street said he was moved to the unit on the advice of his medical team and was receiving “excellent [...]
Oil prices continue fall amid fears production cuts won’t go far enough April 6, 2020 Oil prices have continued to fall this afternoon amid fears that proposed cuts to production will not go far enough to stabilise prices, which have been in freefall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Benchmark Brent crude fell over five per cent to stand at $32.3, while West Texas Intermediate shed seven per cent to hit [...]
Coronavirus: Easyjet secures £600m in Bank of England funding April 6, 2020 Easyjet has secured £600m in commercial paper from the Bank of England’s (BoE) new Covid Corporate Funding Facility as the low-cost carrier seeks to strengthen its liquidity during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Shares in the firm rose 13 per cent after the announcement. Airlines have been among the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic, which [...]
Easyjet founder warns airline could run out of money by August April 6, 2020 Easyjet’s founder and largest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has warned that unless a £4.5bn order for new Airbus planes is scrapped the carrier will run out of money by August. The Greek businessman is also seeking the removal of Easyjet chief financial officer Andrew Findlay. Haji-Ioannou said sacking Findlay “is the only way of preventing [...]
Coronavirus: Banks ‘not stepping up to the plate’ in battle to protect business April 6, 2020 The London Chamber of Commerce has added its voice to calls for the UK’s banks to do more to help British businesses, saying lenders “are simply not stepping up to the plate” in the battle against coronavirus. Over the last week there have been major concerns that despite a hefty package of schemes implemented by [...]
Coronavirus: BMW sales fall over 20 per cent due to retail closures April 6, 2020 BMW’s sales dropped over 20 per cent in the first quarter of the year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the German car giant said today. Due to the widespread closure of showrooms across Europe and the rest of the world, the automotive firm sold only 477,111 vehicles in the first three months of the year. [...]
Coronavirus: Norwegian Air passenger numbers fall 60 per cent in March April 6, 2020 Norwegian Air flew 60 per cent fewer passengers year-on-year in March as the low-cost carrier grounded planes in response to widespread travel bans due to coronavirus. Compared to last year, the airline flew only 1.15m passengers, meaning capacity was 40 per cent lower than had been planned. In a statement, the airline said: “The company [...]
Coronavirus: Rolls-Royce shares jump as engine maker shores up finances April 6, 2020 Shares in engine-making giant Rolls-Royce rose over 14 per cent this morning as the firm unveiled a raft of measures to shore up its finances during the coronavirus crisis. The blue-chip firm, which supplies engines to aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing, is paid by airlines according to the number of hours flown using its engines. [...]
Coronavirus: UK car registrations decline more than during 2008 financial crisis April 6, 2020 The total number of registrations of new cars fell 44.4 per cent in March, a steeper decline than during the financial crisis of 2008-2009, as car showrooms closed in line with the government’s guidance for tackling coronavirus. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 203,370 fewer cars were registered this year than [...]
Coronavirus: Stobart Group furloughs half its staff and withdraws guidance April 6, 2020 Stobart Group will furlough 50 per cent of its staff as part of a range of measures implemented to protect the firm against the coronavirus pandemic, the industrial conglomerate announced this morning. In addition to putting roughly 750 employees on the government’s job retention scheme, the firm, which owns businesses such as London Southend Airport, [...]
