Gupta snaps up industry veteran to lead steelmaking division May 18, 2020 Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel Group has announced the appointment of industry heavyweight Paramjit Kahlon to run its primary steel and integrated mining division. Kahlon, who spent over a decade at steel giant Arcelor Mittal, will oversee the company’s operations in the Czech Republic, Romania and Australia. In the short term, his focus will be on [...]
Coronavirus testing expanded to everyone over five with symptoms May 18, 2020 Everyone in the UK over the age of five with one of the three official coronavirus symptoms will be eligible for testing from today. Health secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement to the House of Commons this afternoon. It comes after loss of taste or smell, technically known as anosmia, was added to the official [...]
Covid-19: Global markets rise as Moderna reports positive vaccine results May 18, 2020 Global stocks pushed higher this afternoon after US biotech firm Moderna reported positive results from an early-stage human trial of its Covid-19 vaccine. The company’s vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, produced levels of virus-neutralising antibodies similar to those found in blood samples of recovered patients. As part of the study, all 45 participants were given three [...]
Embattled retailer Ted Baker appoints new finance chief May 18, 2020 Fashion retailer Ted Baker has appointed former HMV finance boss David Wolffe as its chief financial officer. Wolffe, who previously held senior roles at ITV Studios, AOL Europe and BBC Magazines, was hired as Ted Baker’s interim finance chief in January. The retailer has struggled over the past year, with a string of profit warnings [...]
UK-US trade negotiations set for advanced talks in June May 18, 2020 Trade delegates from the UK and US governments will hold two virtual negotiating rounds next month, after the first formal round of talks between ended on Friday. The next round will see both sides start to introduce detailed proposals as they try to strike a “comprehensive trade deal…at an accelerated pace”, according to international trade [...]
More than £6bn paid out as part of self-employed relief package May 18, 2020 More than £6bn has been paid out to more than 2m of the UK’s self-employed workers under the government’s coronavirus support scheme. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the updated figure today and confirmed there would be no change to the scheme’s £50,000 cut-off. The scheme sees the government hand over a taxable grant worth 80 per [...]
Slumping economy, surging stock market– what’s going on? May 18, 2020 While tens of millions of Americans were losing their jobs, the stock market in April produced its best monthly return in over 30 years. We look at what’s behind this apparent disconnect. 36 million Americans filed for unemployment claims over the past eight weeks. US GDP plunged by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter [...]
TV scripts get coronavirus rewrite as broadcasters resume filming May 18, 2020 TV scripts will have to be rewritten and stars will be made to apply their own makeup under new coronavirus safety guidelines outlined by the UK’s major broadcasters today. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky were among the broadcasters to sign up to a new framework that will allow filming to resume on popular [...]
The 20 busiest Tube stations TfL wants commuters to avoid May 18, 2020 Transport for London has issued a list of the Tube stations that commuters should try to avoid as more people begin to return to work after lockdown. From today, London’s transport network will aim to run 75 per cent of Tube services and 85 per cent of bus services. Government advice remains that those who [...]
Traders bet on Bank of England launching negative interest rates May 18, 2020 Traders are betting that the Bank of England introduces negative interest rates for the first time ever, pushing the pound to a three-week low today. Interest rate futures contracts from December dipped into negative territory today as the money markets speculated that British interest rates would fall below zero in the coming months. Comments by [...]
