Coronavirus: PM Boris Johnson out of intensive care April 9, 2020 Boris Johnson has left intensive care and is in “extremely good spirits,” Downing Street has confirmed in the last few minutes. The Prime Minister remains in hospital, at St Thomas’ in London, where he will receive close monitoring as he makes his recovery from the Covid-19 virus. A spokesman said he was in “extremely good [...]
Former business secretary Greg Clark leads calls for overhaul of coronavirus loan scheme April 9, 2020 Former business secretary Greg Clark MP today branded the government’s coronavirus loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses a “disappointment” and called for an overhaul of the programme. “It hasn’t been taken up as widely as was touted when it was first launched. Since it was there to provide finance for businesses in substantial quantities [...]
Dominic Raab: Still ‘too early’ to lift lockdown restrictions April 9, 2020 The government has said that it is still too early to lift lockdown restrictions across the UK, urging people again not to travel over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson while the prime minister remains in intensive care, said that although the early signs were that [...]
Opec closes in on record deal with Russia to cut oil production by 20m barrels a day April 9, 2020 Oil producer cartel Opec is in talks with Russia about cutting production by 20m barrels per day, roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply, in a bid to end their price war and support the market. Sources from both sides told Reuters that the cuts, which are at least 5m barrels per day [...]
Cross-sector expert group offers free mentoring for businesses facing coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 Experts across all sectors, including retail, hospitality and tech, have teamed up to provide mentoring for company founders and chief executives affected by the outbreak of coronavirus. The All Together scheme includes Martin Williams, the chief executive of Gaucho and M Restaurant brands, Innocent Drinks co-founder Jon Wright and ex-Flying Tiger chief executive Xavier Vidal. [...]
Airbnb restricts UK bookings to key workers due to coronavirus April 9, 2020 Airbnb has blocked UK bookings for all customers except key workers during the coronavirus lockdown. UK listings still appear on the platform however bookings were blocked from 9am today unless they are essential. The restrictions will stay in place until at least 18 April. Under the government lockdown restrictions, all hotels and other accommodation providers [...]
Coronavirus: US stocks rise as Fed intervenes again April 9, 2020 US stocks have opened higher today after the US Federal Reserve committed an extra $2.3 trillion (£1.84 trillion) to shore up the struggling economy. The S&P 500 rose two per cent, the Dow Jones climbed nearly 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq opened 0.9 per cent up. The rise means that the S&P 500 has [...]
England coronavirus deaths rise by 765 as global cases pass 1.5m April 9, 2020 Coronavirus deaths in England have jumped by another 765 to hit a total of 7,248, new NHS figures released today show, as global cases topped 1.5m. Global coronavirus cases passed 1.5m this afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The NHS England figures confirmed 140 English deaths actually happened yesterday. And it represents a drop [...]
London O2 arena to become NHS training ground for staff fighting coronavirus April 9, 2020 AEG has made London’s O2 Arena available to the NHS for the training of additional staff required at the new Nightingale hospital in the Excel centre. The venue’s owner has handed the concert venue over to the NHS until the end of June in order to assist with the growing number of staff required to [...]
Coronavirus: Virgin Australia to ground all but one domestic flight and seeks state aid April 9, 2020 Embattled Virgin Australia has said it will ground all domestic flights except a single daily trip from Sydney to Melbourne due to coronavirus, and is seeking AU$1.4bn (£707m) in government aid. The severely reduced programme will run through to 15 June at the earliest. It is understood that Virgin is seeking the cash in the [...]
