Coronavirus: Retail funds might surprise the doomsayers April 6, 2020 A month ago, it would have been near impossible to predict the speed with which markets returns would fall as investors reacted to a spate of lockdowns across Europe and the US. As more and more countries are caught in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic output in a number of sectors has effectively [...]
Coronavirus: Stobart Group furloughs half its staff and withdraws guidance April 6, 2020 Stobart Group will furlough 50 per cent of its staff as part of a range of measures implemented to protect the firm against the coronavirus pandemic, the industrial conglomerate announced this morning. In addition to putting roughly 750 employees on the government’s job retention scheme, the firm, which owns businesses such as London Southend Airport, [...]
Mirror publisher Reach cuts wages and furloughs a fifth of its staff April 6, 2020 Dairy Mirror publisher Reach has today announced its employees will take a pay cut during the coronavirus crisis, as it continues to operate all of its regional and national titles. The publisher said some members of the senior editorial and management team will take a 20 per cent cut as part of cost-cutting measures. Other [...]
Babcock to make 10,000 ventilators as firm takes small hit from coronavirus April 6, 2020 Engineering giant Babcock has been awarded a contract by the government to manufacture 10,000 ventilators to support efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 firm, which is one of the UK military’s largest contractors, is the latest industrial giant to join manufacturing efforts as the country seeks to “ramp up” the readiness of [...]
NMC Health strives to avoid administration after being hit by creditor court action April 6, 2020 Scandal-hit NMC Health is working to avoid going into administration after being hit by a court action brought by one of its creditors. The London-listed company said today that lawyers acting for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) filed an application on 2 April in the High Court to appoint administrators to NMC with a hearing [...]
WH Smith to tap investors for up to £150m due to coronavirus outbreak April 6, 2020 WH Smith has confirmed it is planning to tap investors for a cash injection of up to £150m to shore up its balance sheet due to the impact of coronavirus. The company said this morning that it has secured new lending facilities of £120m to strengthen its balance sheet, working capital and liquidity position, however [...]
Ladbrokes owner GVC scraps dividend but halves coronavirus profit hit April 6, 2020 Betting giant GVC has cancelled its interim dividend over coronavirus concerns, but has also halved the hit it expects to take from the global pandemic. The UK coronavirus outbreak “significantly reduced” GVC’s revenues from mid-March, the company warned today as it scrapped its second interim dividend. Instead it will conserve cash, after retail like-for-like net [...]
UK coronavirus: Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in hospital April 6, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in hospital this morning with a high temperature after first testing positive for coronavirus 10 days ago. “The PM is still at hospital,” a government source told Reuters. “He spent the night in hospital.” Johnson was taken to hospital last night with a high temperature for additional coronavirus tests. He [...]
Oil prices slip on delayed talks but stocks rise as coronavirus cases slow April 6, 2020 Oil prices dipped on Monday after talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut output were postponed, while a slowdown in coronavirus deaths and cases saw stocks jump. Brent crude fell as much as $4 overnight after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed the negotiations, which were expected to go ahead today, to Thursday. Brent crude [...]
UK’s smaller firms cannot pay debts amid coronavirus, say accountants April 6, 2020 The UK’s small and medium-sized businesses do not have enough cash to pay debts due in the next year, research has shown, as fears rise over the resilience of British firms in the face of the coronavirus slowdown. Coronavirus containment measures have pushed businesses to close and caused a slump in demand. This has caused [...]
