How to improve your forecasting in a constantly changing world August 6, 2020 Companies are moving to the next phase of business planning, with one eye on economic recovery and the other on what their business and industry will look like as they emerge from and go beyond the crisis. But the future is a blind spot for many. Prior forecasting methods, based on past customer demand, may [...]
London hospitality firms call for free face masks at Tube stations August 6, 2020 London’s hospitality firms require urgent improvements to the “insufficient and inadequate” support provided for struggling businesses in the city centre, the leading industry body has said. In a letter to London mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Hospitality has set out a number of urgent measures that could encourage Londoners and domestic tourists to visit the centre [...]
Uber snaps up UK taxi tech firm Autocab August 6, 2020 Uber has acquired taxi tech firm Autocab, in a move that will allow it to operate in areas it has yet to launch in. The Stockport-based company sells booking and dispatch software to private hire firms, and will allow Uber to link people who open its app in locations where it does not run with [...]
Economists question Bank of England’s ‘optimistic’ forecast August 6, 2020 The Bank of England today kept interest rates on hold and said the UK economy would not shrink as much as initially thought this year, but it said the recovery would take longer. But some economists have questioned the assumptions, arguing that high unemployment will damage the economy. The Bank said the UK economy was [...]
Ministers set to impose quarantine restrictions on Belgium August 6, 2020 The government is preparing to hit travellers from Belgium with mandatory quarantine restrictions after a spike in coronavirus cases in the country. The Daily Mail reported that ministers would sign off on the decision to impose 14-day self-isolation measures on all those travelling from Belgium to the UK at a meeting this evening. It added [...]
Ryanair increases services to 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels in August August 6, 2020 Budget carrier Ryanair today said that it had successfully increased its flight schedule to over 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels as passenger numbers continue to grow after lockdown. Having restarted its services in June, the Irish airline said that it would fly 11,000 flights a week throughout the month, over 1,600 routes. In September, [...]
Animal Crossing powers five-fold profit jump for Nintendo August 6, 2020 Nintendo posted a more than five-fold jump in quarterly profit today, as the success of its Switch console and standout game Animal Crossing supported the games maker during the pandemic. People stuck at home around the world flocked to titles like Animal Crossing, which allows users to create life on an idyllic island, which sold [...]
YouGov: Xbox marks the spot with well-received launch August 6, 2020 On July 23, Microsoft hosted a digital games showcase to promote the Xbox Series X ahead of the console’s official launch later this year. Expectations were high following Sony’s well-received PlayStation 5 reveal in June, but data from YouGov BrandIndex indicates that the event had a different reception. Buzz scores (which measure whether people have [...]
Bank of England: Downturn better than feared but UK faces longer recovery August 6, 2020 The Bank of England has significantly improved its prediction for the path of the UK economy this year, but said the recovery will take longer than initially expected. The Bank’s projection, released today, said the UK economy was likely to shrink by 9.5 per cent this year and then grow by nine per cent in [...]
Convenience store chain McColl’s swings to loss despite coronavirus spike in demand August 6, 2020 Convenience store chain McColl’s swung to a loss in the first half of the year despite a surge in demand during the coronavirus lockdown. The figures McColl’s reported a loss before tax of £1.3m in the 26 weeks ended 24 May, down from profit of £200,000 last year. McColl’s total revenue fell one per cent [...]
