Test and Trace boss Dido Harding told to self-isolate by her own app November 18, 2020 The head of the government’s troubled contact tracing programme has gone into self-isolation after being told to do so by her own app. Dido Harding, who leads the Track and Trace scheme, must self-isolate until midnight on 26 November. The Tory peer shared a screenshot of the notification on Twitter, joking: “Nothing like personal experience [...]
UK music industry value set to halve as pandemic derails growth November 18, 2020 The value of the UK music industry is set to almost halve in size this year due to the “catastrophic blow” of the coronavirus pandemic. Figures published today by industry body UK Music showed the sector contributed a bumper £5.8bn to the economy in 2019 — up 11 per cent on the previous year. Employment [...]
SSE takes Covid profit hit amid green energy push November 18, 2020 Energy giant SSE today said that profit before tax had fallen a quarter in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 company said that the pandemic had cost it £115m over the last six months, with full year costs between £150m and £250m forecast. Adjusted profit before tax [...]
UK and EU ‘have made progress’ on Brexit talks, business secretary says November 18, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma said the EU and UK “have made progress” on a post-Brexit trade deal, amid chatter that an agreement could be reached next week.
Pandemic wipes £1bn off British Land’s portfolio as retailers take a hit November 18, 2020 The pandemic has wiped almost £1bn off commercial landlord British Land’s (BLND) portfolio after retailers were forced to close and offices lay empty. The FTSE 100 firm said the value of its portfolio of offices and shops had fallen from £11.2bn in March to £10.3bn by the end of September. The structural challenges in retail [...]
B&M sales benefit from lockdown loophole, but fails to grow customer base November 18, 2020 B&M benefits from being classed as an essential retailer due to stocking food and household goods, meaning stores have been allowed to remain open during lockdowns – an issue that has been widely discussed in the media.
FTSE 100 dips as coronavirus infections come back into focus November 18, 2020 The FTSE 100 has fallen for a second day as investors return their focus to rising coronavirus cases and new restrictions after positive vaccine news boosted global markets. London’s blue-chip index was down 0.5 per cent shortly after the open, taking it to 6,336 points. The FTSE 250 of slightly smaller firms was 0.2 per [...]
Halfords doubles profit after lockdown cycling boom November 18, 2020 Retailer Halfords more than doubled its profit in the first half of the year after capitalising on the lockdown cycling boom. The FTSE 250 firm, which sells motoring and cycling products, reported pre-tax profit of £56m in the six months to 2 October, up from £25.9m in the same period last year. There has been [...]
European car sales fall in October as new restrictions kick in November 18, 2020 The European car market fell again in October having only recorded its first increase this year the month before, new figures today showed. Last month sales of new cars declined 7.8 per cent to 953,615 units as governments across the continent began to impose new lockdown restrictions. The figures, from trade body the European Automobile [...]
UK inflation picks up despite lockdowns as clothing prices rise November 18, 2020 Prices picked up across the UK economy in October, the latest figures have shown, with clothing pushing inflation higher after disruption to the sector earlier in the year. Consumer price index inflation came in at 0.7 per cent on an annual basis last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was up from [...]
