Coronavirus: Lloyd’s of London to close underwriting room from today March 19, 2020 Insurance market Lloyd’s of London is to close its underwriting room from 4pm today because of the coronavirus crisis. Last Friday it closed its underwriting room, which is at the heart of its Lime Street headquarters, to simulate a shutdown and test its contingency systems. Lloyd’s has been trying to push the market to move [...]
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier tests positive for coronavirus March 19, 2020 The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said today he has tested positive for coronavirus. Barnier, a former French foreign affairs minister, has been the European Commission’s chief negotiator with the UK throughout the Brexit process. Today, Barnier tweeted that he had tested positive for novel coronavirus Covid-19. “I would like to inform you [...]
Coronavirus: Death toll in Italy surges to 2,978 March 18, 2020 The death toll from coronavirus in Italy has surged in the last 24 hours by 475 to 2,978, an increase of 19 per cent, the biggest jump in numerical terms since the contagion came to light last month, Italian officials said today. The total number of cases in Italy rose to 35,713 from a previous [...]
Coronavirus: Government poised to impose London-only restrictions March 18, 2020 Boris Johnson has indicated that Londoners should brace themselves for capital-specific restrictions, in the hope of flattening the curve of the coronavirus outbreak. Multiple sources have said measures including restricting travel and shutting all but essential shops and services in line with measures seen in other European capitals, could be brought in as early as [...]
Pennon sells waste business Viridor to private equity firm KKR in £4.2bn deal March 18, 2020 FTSE 250 utility company Pennon said today it has agreed to sell waste business Viridor to private equity firm KKR in a £4.2bn deal. The sale represents an enterprise value of £4.2bn on a cash-free, debt-free basis at an earnings multiple of 18.5x. KKR made an unsuccessful bid for Viridor late last year in an [...]
Barristers push for suspension of jury trials during coronavirus outbreak March 18, 2020 Barristers have continued to push the government to suspend jury trials amid risks to the health of court users and jurors during the coronavirus outbreak. Late last night the head of the judiciary said that all jury trials longer than three days would be suspended. The Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland today reinforced last night’s decision, [...]
National Express plunges by third as transport stocks hammered by coronavirus home working March 18, 2020 Shares in National Express crashed by a third this morning as investors fled transport stocks over concerns the coronavirus-inspired shift to home working could hit their businesses. National Express shares fell 34 per cent to 86p today. On 28 February its shares were valued at 423p. Go Ahead and First Group have also been hit [...]
Coronavirus: Jury trials ‘Russian roulette’ says QC chief as she calls for their suspension March 17, 2020 The head of the barristers body for England and Wales today called for the government to halt jury trials which she said were a “game of Russian roulette with the participants’ health” during the current coronavirus crisis. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is insisting that the business of the courts continue, despite the Prime Minister [...]
Reports that mobile networks O2, EE, Vodafone and Three are down March 17, 2020 Users of mobile networks such as O2, EE, Vodafone and Three have said their networks are down. According to website Downdetector.co.uk, users of those services as well Tesco Mobile and Giffgaff have been reporting problems with their services. The outage happened as millions of Brits worked from home in light of the coronavirus epidemic. An [...]
Unaoil bribery trial suspended amid coronavirus concerns March 17, 2020 The trial of three executives accused of paying bribes to win oil contracts was suspended today amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The three Unaoil executives, Ziad Akle, Paul Bond and Stephen Whiteley, have been accused by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of conspiring to make corrupt payments in relation to oil contracts in Iraq. [...]