Air France-KLM posts €815m loss as coronavirus crushes demand May 7, 2020 Air France-KLM this morning reported an €815m (£713.9m) loss for the first quarter on the back of the total collapse in flight demand caused by coronavirus. Revenue fell 15.5 per cent to €5bn in the first quarter, with its net loss widening to €1.8bn from €324m. The Franco-Dutch airline said that the plunge would continue [...]
An Interview with Massimo Buonomo May 7, 2020 Massimo Buonomo is a former United Nations (UN) Alliance of Civilization Global Expert in Blockchain, Fintech and Regtech. Massimo is currently exploring how blockchain solutions can be used to address the challenges addressed by Covid-19. BEQUANT Talks has undertaken an exclusive interview with Massimo to explore his views on the state of the market and [...]
Holiday Inn owner IHG’s occupancy levels dive to record lows during coronavirus pandemic May 7, 2020 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) said occupancy levels dropped to historic lows in March and April due to coronavirus lockdowns around the world. The hotel group said global revenue per available room plunged 25 per cent in the first quarter, with a 55 per cent drop in March. It is forecast to fall [...]
UK economy: Is the Bank of England’s 2021 rebound scenario too optimistic? May 7, 2020 The Bank of England today said the UK economy could suffer its worst economic crash in 300 years this year as the coronavirus lockdown batters the economy. Yet it said it is likely to bounce back relatively quickly. Despite the dire report it stopped short of launching more bond-buying or “quantitative easing” (QE) and left [...]
British Airways: Five things you need to know as IAG reports £1.5bn loss May 7, 2020 British Airways owner IAG this morning reported a total first quarter loss of €1.8bn (£1.5bn), saying that it was currently operating 94 per cent down on its total passenger capacity. More worryingly, it said that it expected the second quarter’s results to be far worse, and warned that passenger demand would not return to pre-coronavirus [...]
Fifth of employees expect they will take a permanent pay cut at the end of the year May 7, 2020 A fifth of employees expect to take a permanent pay cut by the end of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an exclusive poll for City A.M. The poll, conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, found that 18 per cent of respondents said it is unlikely they will have the same salary [...]
Ex-Asda boss Andy Clarke praises UK supermarkets’ ‘incredible’ response to coronavirus crisis May 7, 2020 Former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke said the UK supermarket sector had responded “incredibly well” to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Clarke, who led Asda for six years before leaving in 2016, said UK grocers had managed to “get Britain back on track” after a surge in stockpiling caused product restrictions in the lead [...]
Banks blasted over ‘disappointingly slow’ pace of lending as coronavirus loans hit £5.5bn May 7, 2020 Banks have lent over £5.5bn to SMEs through the CBILS scheme but a leading industry body has said the process is still too slow. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the improvement in the number of firms accessing CBILS is welcome. However, head of economics Suren Thiru said that with many firms “only having [...]
How the O2-Virgin Media merger will reshape the telecoms sector May 7, 2020 O2 and Virgin Media this morning confirmed they will join forces in a mammoth merger that will create a new £31bn telecoms powerhouse. The deal — reports of which first emerged last week — came as little surprise to industry watchers, though the timing of the deal in the middle of a global pandemic has [...]
Are we heading back towards single-use plastic because of coronavirus? May 7, 2020 The battle against plastic pollution has rapidly gained momentum in recent years. Our 2018 report – Plastics phase-out: exposure through the value chain – analysed the challenges across sectors beyond the use of carrier bags, microbeads and straws. We concluded that the issue was not just a point of public concern but either an opportunity for forward-thinking [...]
