French supermarket chain Casino sees pandemic costs eat into profits July 30, 2020 French supermarket chain Casino reported a jump in revenue in the second quarter due to a surge in stockpiling triggered by coronavirus lockdown, but extra costs related to the pandemic ate into profits. Operating profit fell 15.3 per cent to €386m (£348.34m) in the first six months of the year as extra staff bonuses, in-store [...]
US economy shrinks by record 33 per cent amid coronavirus pandemic July 30, 2020 The US economy suffered its biggest crash on record in the second quarter as coronavirus ripped through the country, with GDP plunging at an annualised rate of 32.9 per cent according to an advance estimate. The drop in output – which came after a fall of five per cent in the first quarter – was [...]
Renault plunges to record €7bn loss as pandemic shrinks sales July 30, 2020 French car giant Renault fell to a record loss of €7.4bn (£6.8bn) in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic decimated the global automotive industry. The firm said that most of the loss came through its creaking alliance with Japanese automaker Nissan, which filed a €4.8bn loss. Speaking to investors today, new chief [...]
Trump calls to delay 2020 US election on ‘inaccurate and fraudulent’ voting systems July 30, 2020 US President Donald J Trump has put out a call to delay the upcoming US 2020 presidential election, saying current voting systems are “inaccurate and fraudulent”. Trump, without evidence, today repeated his claims of mail-in voter fraud and raised the question of a delay, writing on Twitter: “Delay the election until people can properly, securely [...]
Tiktok sets up $2bn fund to poach creators from rivals July 30, 2020 Tiktok has today revealed it will be putting more than $2bn aside over the next three years to pay creators on its platform, in a bid to attract more influencers from rivals Instagram and Youtube. Around $300m of that fund will go to creators in the UK and Europe, while $1bn will be set aside [...]
Nasa launches ninth Mars mission in hunt for signs of past life July 30, 2020 Nasa today launched its next-generation Mars rover from Florida on a $2.4bn mission to find signs of past life on the red planet. The Perseverance rover was aboard an Atlas 5 rocket, which is manufactured by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance. Once on Mars it will also deploy a mini helicopter and test [...]
US jobless claims rise again to 1.43m as total number of claimants tops 30m July 30, 2020 US jobless claims rose for the second consecutive week, as 1.43m more people filed for benefits last week, the Labor Department said. The figure is some 12,000 applications higher than the previous week, which in turn saw the first rise in claimants for almost four months. More than 1.4m Americans made a new jobless claim [...]
SCS shares jump as furniture sales soar after lockdown July 30, 2020 Shares in furniture retailer SCS jumped this morning as it reported a surge in demand following the coronavirus lockdown. Order intake before lockdown was down 4.2 per cent on the previous year, plunging 92.5 per cent below 2019 levels during lockdown. Demand bounced back as restrictions were eased, with order intake between 24 May and [...]
John Lewis may convert department stores into affordable housing July 30, 2020 John Lewis is considering converting some of its store estate into housing in an attempt to strengthen its services business as the high street battles the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The retailer, which owns the department store chain and Waitrose, said it is exploring the concept of new mixed-use affordable housing with third parties. [...]
Lloyds swings to loss as it sets aside extra £2.4bn for bad loans July 30, 2020 UK banking giant Lloyds swung to a £600m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year today as coronavirus cost it an extra £2.4bn. The provision for loan losses was bigger than the £1.5bn analysts had anticipated. It took total provisions for the first half of the year to £3.8bn. Read more: Barclays braces [...]
