PwC UK freezes pay as partners told they will shoulder financial burden of crisis April 5, 2020 PwC UK froze promotions, pay rises and bonuses for staff last week and told partners they will shoulder the financial burden of the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus lockdown. The Big Four firm has delayed its staff appraisal programme that normally kicks off after 31 March, meaning bonuses, pay rises and promotions will not [...]
UK consumer confidence plunges after deepest quarterly decline on record April 3, 2020 UK consumer confidence in the first quarter of the year fell nine percentage points as the coronavirus pandemic hit home. Confidence in job security fell 15 percentage points from the previous quarter to -20, Deloitte’s consumer tracker showed. Sentiment in the state of the economy fell to -71, with consumers signposting a further three percentage [...]
Chancellor shakes up coronavirus loan scheme after criticism of banks April 2, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak said tonight that he is extending a coronavirus loan scheme for small businesses and introducing a new loan scheme for businesses with revenue up to £500m. The Treasury also said it would ban lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000. And Sunak pledged “operational changes” to speed up lending approvals. [...]
Arcadia furloughs 14,500 staff following coronavirus shutdown April 2, 2020 Retailer Arcadia today said it was furloughing 14,500 of its workers after it shut its stores because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Topshop-owner also said that its board and senior leadership team were taking a salary reduction of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent. Arcadia closed its physical stores two weeks ago as [...]
Accountancy firm criticises ‘alarmist’ prediction of 800,000 coronavirus insolvencies April 2, 2020 Restructuring specialists at accountancy firm RSM said media reports that 800,000 to 1m UK businesses could collapse as a result of the coronavirus crisis are “alarmist at best”. Yesterday, the BBC, citing an unnamed accounting firm, said 800,000 to 1m businesses, a fifth of the UK total, “may soon have to close”. RSM partner Gareth [...]
Ratings agency Fitch predicts deep recession in 2020 on back of coronavirus pandemic April 2, 2020 Ratings agency Fitch today predicted a deep global recession in 2020 following the rapid global spread of coronavirus. Fitch said it expected worldwide economic activity to decline 1.9 per cent in 2020, with US, eurozone and UK GDP down by 3.3 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively. It said it expected [...]
Standard Chartered boss says US and UK ‘too late’ with coronavirus lockdowns April 2, 2020 Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters today criticised the response of authorities in the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic. Winters said the US and UK had acted “too late” with their measures to contain the virus. “I find it interesting to listen to the debate now that we in the West, or in the [...]
UK coronavirus death toll jumps 566 to 2,921 April 2, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus death toll jumped 569 today to 2,921, the Department of Health said. As of 9am today, a total of 163,194 people have been tested of which 33,718 tested positive, the department said. As of 5pm yesterday, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,921 have died, the department [...]
Spain’s coronavirus death toll passes 10,000 after another record day of deaths April 2, 2020 Spain’s coronavirus death toll exceeded 10,000 today after a record 950 people with the virus died overnight, the country’s health ministry said. The number of cases rose by about eight per cent from yesterday to 110,238, the health ministry said. The rate of growth of cases numbers has slowed in recent days. Spain’s total coronavirus [...]
Treasury set to overhaul coronavirus loan scheme to avoid insolvencies April 1, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly set to overhaul the government’s emergency coronavirus loan scheme over concerns that small and medium sized businesses may go bust before they can access the funds. Sky News reported Sunak is set to announce that the requirement for banks to assess whether companies are eligible for other funding products [...]