Coronavirus triggers profit warning spike for financial services businesses May 18, 2020 UK listed financial services businesses have issued more profit warnings this year than in the whole of 2019 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. UK-listed financial services firms have issued 31 covid-19 related profit warnings so far this year, according to analysis from EY, representing 17 per cent of the Ftse financial services sector. [...]
Competition watchdog seeks emergency powers to tackle coronavirus profiteering May 18, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has told the government it needs emergency powers to crack down on firms profiteering from the coronavirus crisis. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it needs emergency time-limited legislation to tackle companies that have increased prices for high demand products such as hand sanitiser during the pandemic. CMA chief executive [...]
Railways introduce crowd control measures to help stop coronavirus spread May 18, 2020 Rail and Tube chiefs today put in place crowd control measures at stations around the UK and added more train services amid fears overcrowding could help spread coronavirus. Last Sunday Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged those who could not work from home to go back to work in an easing of the coronavirus lockdown. Network [...]
Ryanair cuts 2021 traffic target again over coronavirus, but boosts profit May 18, 2020 Ryanair has slashed its passenger traffic target by another 20 per cent for 2021 as it recorded a 13 per cent rise in profit after tax for its latest full-year. The budget airline revealed the profit jump today but warned it may pull out of some of Europe’s airports over coronavirus travel bans. Michael O’Leary’s [...]
Visitor numbers at UK shopping destinations dive in coronavirus lockdown May 18, 2020 The number of visitors to UK shopping destinations collapsed last month during the coronavirus lockdown, according to the latest research. UK footfall plunged 84.7 per cent in April, a record decline for the retail industry, due to the mandatory coronavirus lockdown that forced shops to close and restricted the movement of consumers. Shopping centre footfall [...]
UK economy receives fresh warnings before Rishi Sunak addresses MPs May 18, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to address MPs today following new dire predictions of the impact of coronavirus on the UK economy. Sunak is set to face questions over how the UK will pay for huge public borrowing currently propping up the economy. The Treasury boss extended his job retention scheme to October last week, [...]
Bailout shows the need for a TfL rethink May 18, 2020 We will probably never know exactly how close we came to TfL going bust and services across London not running last week. Unless, of course, when today’s bailout agreement expires in September, there isn’t another crunch. The capital’s transport network has had another log thrown on the fire, but central Government remains in control of [...]
Alibaba’s Jack Ma steps down from Softbank board May 18, 2020 Softbank has announced that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest high-profile exit for the technology group. The resignation of Jack Ma, after 13 years on the board, is the latest departure of critics of Softbank founder Masayoshi Son’s pivot towards a £100bn investment fund. Ma did not give a [...]
Asian shares make cautious gains even as Japan falls into recession May 18, 2020 Asian shares made cautious gains on the back of S&P 500 futures and a rise in oil prices, even as Japan slipped into recession. Japan has fallen into recession as the coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll on the global economy. Japan’s economy shrank 3.4 per cent in the first three months of 2020 [...]
