Oil prices tumble 10 per cent as Russia rejects Opec deal March 7, 2020 Oil prices plummeted by around 10 per cent on Friday as a proposal to reduce output by major producers collapsed. With global demand slowing due to the coronavirus’s impact on travel, manufacturing and supply chains, the plan had intended to keep prices steady. But Russia decline to participate and talks ended with there being no [...]
Coronavirus fear returns to Wall Street as global markets slide March 7, 2020 The US stock market followed the suit of other global markets by plunging further on Friday as coronavirus fears continued to grip investors. The Dow Jones fell by one per cent, or 256 points, to finish the week on 25,865 points. Meanwhile, other major indices, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, saw losses of 1.7 [...]
Budget 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak to scrap ‘tampon tax’ March 6, 2020 The so-called tampon tax is set to be abolished in next week’s Budget. A zero rate of VAT will apply to women’s sanitary products from the start of next year. The UK has been obliged to pay the EU VAT Directive since 1973 and the tampon tax is currently five per cent. MPs voted against [...]
Bob Diamond appoints ex-Barclays colleague Rich Ricci to lead Panmure Gordon March 6, 2020 Bob Diamond has hired his former right-hand man from his time at Barclays to head up loss-making stockbroker Panmure Gordon. Diamond appointed Rich Ricci as chief executive of London-based Panmure, which he acquired two years ago. The former Barclays boss will be reunited with 56-year-old American investment banker Ricci, who ran the old Barclays capital [...]
Coronavirus: Starbucks bans reusable cups in bid to prevent spread of Covid-19 March 6, 2020 Starbucks has temporarily banned customers from using reusable cups in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The coffee shop chain has said customers will still get the 25p discount for bringing a reusable cup with them but drinks will be served in paper cups. Costa Coffee and Greggs have said they do not have plans to [...]
Coronavirus: Four Danish footballers in quarantine as Premier League bans pre-match handshakes March 6, 2020 Denmark football club Brondby have quarantined 13 people including a player and assistant coach after ex-Denmark international Thomas Kahlenberg tested positive for coronavirus. Kahlenberg contracted the virus in Amsterdam last weekend according to Brondby director of communications Christian Schultz, before attending the club’s match with Lyngby on Sunday. Brondby defender Joel Kabongo joins assistant coach [...]
Budget should include ‘hardship fund’ for firms hit by coronavirus, says British Chambers of Commerce chief March 6, 2020 The chief of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the government to include a “hardship fund” for firms affected by the coronavirus in this month’s Budget. Director-general of the BCC, Dr Adam Marshall, has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to roll out measures supporting small and medium-sized firms, according to [...]
Coronavirus: ‘This is not a drill’, warns WHO boss as Covid-19 continues to spread March 6, 2020 The head of the World Health Organisation has warned that the continued spread of the coronavirus is “not a drill” as the number of worldwide cases approaches 100,000. WHO‘s director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it would require significant action from public health authorities to contain Covid-19. Tedros admitted he was concerned by the lack [...]
How do Manchester City’s central defenders stack up against one another? March 5, 2020 When Manchester City saw Vincent Kompany depart last summer they not only lost their captain and leader but also the club’s best central defender. The problem is that, despite the more than £1bn invested in the squad by the current ownership, they did not replace him. That decision has already come back to bite them [...]
England must rediscover creative spark in Triple Crown showdown March 5, 2020 England’s victory over Ireland in the last round of the Six Nations saw them take a significant step forward in performance. But in truth it came from a standing start. Eddie Jones’s men had been torn apart by the flair of the French before they stumbled to a win at Scotland in the swirling wind [...]
