Unemployment rate set to surge in UK coronavirus lockdown April 21, 2020 The UK unemployment rate is set to rocket amid the coronavirus lockdown, economists warned today as data showed employment at a record high before March. But job vacancies sank by 52,000 year on year to 795,000 for the first three months of 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. UK unemployment also inched up [...]
Donald Trump suspends immigration over coronavirus April 21, 2020 US President Donald Trump has vowed to suspend all immigration into the US in the latest dramatic response to the world spread of coronavirus. The temporary move effectively delivers on a long-held Trump administration goal. But Trump said it was a necessary step to protect US jobs. The country has seen spiking unemployment claims, with [...]
Coronavirus: London finance jobseekers surge by 43 per cent April 20, 2020 The number of London finance professionals seeking employment has surged over 40 per cent in the first three months of 2020 even as coronavirus hit salaries and vacancies, new data showed today. Jobseekers in the UK finance industry rocketed 43 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2019, according to Morgan McKinley’s Spring London [...]
CMA provisionally clears Amazon’s £442m Deliveroo investment over coronavirus April 17, 2020 A UK watchdog today provisionally cleared Amazon’s massive £442m investment into Deliveroo due to the risk the food delivery firm faces from coronavirus. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called the situation “wholly unprecedented” but said the cash was “realistically only available from Amazon”. Deliveroo has seen a significant decline in revenues from the UK [...]
FCA pushes car finance firms to halt repossessions amid coronavirus April 17, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog has proposed a freeze on car finance repayments, ruling out repossessions of vehicles during the coronavirus crisis. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told car leasing firms today to offer three-month repayment pauses for customers in financial difficulty as a result of coronavirus. “We are very aware of the continued struggle people [...]
Foxtons targets £22m equity raise amid London house prices blow April 17, 2020 Foxtons estate agent has proposed a major £22m share sale representing about 20 per cent of issued stock as it furloughs staff. The £22m equity raise will allow Foxtons to repay its revolving credit facility and to boost its liquidity in the face of the coronavirus shutdown. The share sale would bolster its cash balance [...]
Coronavirus: EU vows to protect weakened firms from foreign takeovers April 17, 2020 The EU is set to protect its companies against foreign takeovers from firms taking advantage of the economic fallout from coronavirus. The bloc plans to allow governments to take large stakes in weak European companies, even owning them in some cases. The European Commission has decided to step in due to the unprecedented impact of [...]
UK coronavirus deaths jump by 861 to take total past 13,000 April 16, 2020 The UK has counted another 861 coronavirus deaths today as another 4,618 people tested positive for the infection. That means 13,839 Brits have now died from coronavirus, while the total number of infections has jumped past 100,000. Today’s number of coronavirus deaths is higher than yesterday’s figure for the UK of 761. And today’s infection [...]
Coronavirus: Global stocks set to sink as economic reality bites April 16, 2020 Global stocks were set to fall today as “ugly” economic data and weak bank earnings suggest a recession is on the horizon. Asian stocks dropped today, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 1.2 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.7 per cent. That came after Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citi all saw [...]
British AI startup Onfido in talks to provide coronavirus immunity passports April 15, 2020 British AI startup Onfido revealed a $100m (£80m) funding round today and confirmed it is in talks to provide so-called coronavirus immunity passports when lockdowns begin to ease. The entirety of Onfido’s new stake comes from US investor TPG Growth’s $45bn fund, and brings the digital identity startup’s total funding to $200m. Founder Husayn Kassai [...]
