Coronavirus: Guinness owner Diageo pauses £4.5bn shareholder returns scheme April 9, 2020 Guinness owner Diageo has scrapped its financial guidance and suspended a £4.5bn shareholder returns programme after bars and restaurants across the world closed due to coronavirus. The drinks giant has not scrapped its interim dividend, however it has paused a three-year shareholder returns programme after governments ordered pubs to shut. Diageo said it had seen [...]
Coronavirus: The banks were slow to get on board, but there are greater challenges ahead April 9, 2020 When the full impact of Coronavirus began to be felt in mid-March the Chancellor announced measures to support UK business by first introducing the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILs) and quickly following it with the Job Retention Scheme (JRS). These were the immediate lifelines to business in the UK that had been called for, [...]
Boris Johnson ‘getting better’ but remains in intensive care with covid-19 April 9, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “getting better” a government minister said today, but remains in intensive care suffering from covid-19. Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’s hospital in London on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough. On Monday he was moved to the hospital’s intensive care department after his condition worsened. [...]
Coronavirus: Arcadia races to raise £50m to secure immediate future April 9, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire is scrambling to raise £50m to secure its future amid the coronavirus crisis, which has forced stores to close indefinitely. Arcadia, which owns Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, has reportedly approached banks and hedge funds as it seeks to borrow around £50m against its Daventry distribution centre, Sky News reported. [...]
FCA introduces credit card and loan freeze to help consumers through coronavirus April 9, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a package of measures today to help customers with credit cards and loans during the coronavirus lockdown. The City watchdog said the measures would help provide temporary financial relief to people with commonly used consumer credit products. Firms are expected to offer customers a temporary payment freeze on loans [...]
Coronavirus: London’s future remains extremely bright April 9, 2020 In recent weeks, millions of us have begun to work from home for the first time. In the current climate of uncertainty, many wonder about the discrete workforce and supply chain that makes their daily life possible, and realise how we are all deeply interlinked, globally and locally. As millions of us make this transition, [...]
Bank of England to finance government borrowing during coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The Bank of England has agreed to temporarily finance government borrowing during the coronavirus crisis, a measure last used extensively during the financial crisis. The UK government normally borrows money via the issues of bonds to the market. The measure announced today gives the government more flexibility in raising cash quickly. “As a temporary measure, [...]
Calls for stamp duty holiday as UK house prices set to fall amid coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The government has been urged to take action to support the housing market, including a stamp duty holiday, as UK house prices are forecast to drop due to coronavirus. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has called for a stamp duty holiday as a “short term measure”. It said it could encourage potential buyers [...]
Coronavirus: What can the Chinese economic experience teach the rest of the world? April 9, 2020 The Coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented pressure upon the global economy, yet the length of this paralysis is key to answering many of the questions being asked. Albeit too early to properly assess what effects containment measures – initiated by governments across the world – are currently having, it is likely that these will intensify [...]
