Ryanair dives to €200m loss as coronavirus decimates passenger numbers November 2, 2020 Ryanair crashed to a €197m (£177.8m) loss in the first half of the year as the budget carrier flew just 17m due to the coronavirus pandemic. From the start of lockdown in March to the end of June, 99 per cent of the Irish airline’s planes were grounded amid stringent travel bans and health concerns. [...]
Software firm The Bytes Group unveils plans for London stock market float November 2, 2020 Software firm The Bytes Group today unveiled plans for an initial public offering after posting a rise in revenue and profit thanks to the shift in home working. The planned float would see the firm demerge from its South African parent company Altron and pursue a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a [...]
GVC warns that new lockdown could cost it £43m November 2, 2020 Gambling giant GVC has warned that it will lose £43m if all of its betting shops have to close due to the new coronavirus lockdown. The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said that its forecasts took into account new government support schemes. Under the new restrictions announced on Saturday, GVC will have to close all its [...]
Hiscox sets aside $75m for catastrophe claims as gross premiums grow November 2, 2020 Insurance firm Hiscox said that it had set aside $75m (£58.1m) for natural disasters claims in the third quarter as gross written premiums grew in the first nine months of the year. In a trading statement this morning, the FTSE 250 firm revealed the decision to set aside the money after another autumn of dramatic [...]
Primark warns of £375m sales hit due to second lockdown November 2, 2020 The owner of Primark has warned it will suffer a sales hit of £375m as it prepares to shutter stores across England due to new lockdown measures. In a market update this morning, Associated British Foods (ABF) said 19 per cent of its selling space is currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions in the Republic [...]
Racing against time: The UK-US trade deal and the 2020 election November 2, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – International trade secretary Liz Truss recently made it clear that the UK needed to close a US trade deal by mid-2021 if it was going to happen any time soon. In July, the US government’s Trade Promotion Authority -which allows trade deals to be passed through Congress without being amended – will [...]
‘No alternative’ to second lockdown, PM to tell MPs November 2, 2020 Boris Johnson is expected to tell MPs that there is “no alternative” to a second lockdown later today as he seeks to garner support for new restrictions which are due to come into effect on Thursday. In a statement to Parliament, he will warn that deaths from coronavirus could be twice as high as in [...]
Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]
Gousto becomes latest UK tech ‘unicorn’ after lockdown surge November 2, 2020 Recipe box firm Gousto has become the UK’s latest tech “unicorn” after raising £25m in a new funding round. The new investment, which came from existing partners Perwyn and BGF, means that the company is now achieved a valuation of over $1bn. It is the fourth tech firm to gain the mantle this year. Gousto, [...]
Donald Trump reportedly preparing to claim premature victory on US election night November 2, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to claim victory prematurely on election night before tens of millions of ballots are counted, which would plunge the country into an unprecedented political crisis. Axios reports that Trump has told confidants he will claim victory if he leads enough battleground states by the end of the [...]
