Coronavirus: US services sector contracts for first time in over a decade May 5, 2020 The US services sector shrank for the first time in more than a decade in April, survey data has shown, as coronavirus lockdown measures caused demand to plummet and businesses to close. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) closely watched “PMI” gauge of services sector activity fell to 41.8 in April. It was the first [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks rise as countries ease coronavirus lockdowns May 5, 2020 US stocks have followed the FTSE 100 higher on the back of an oil price rally and hopes that economies could start to heal as countries and states lift coronavirus restrictions. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was 1.8 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 5,856 points. It had fallen 0.2 per cent yesterday. The mid-cap [...]
Ocado investor Royal London to oppose executive pay report May 5, 2020 Ocado investor Royal London is preparing to vote against the online supermarket’s executive pay report at its annual meeting tomorrow, branding boss Tim Steiner’s £58.7m payout “excessive”. Steiner’s remuneration package included a £54.1m Growth Incentive Plan award, linked to the company’s share price growth between 2014 and 2019. The scheme paid out £87.5m to Ocado [...]
Rival states launch cyber attacks on UK and US coronavirus labs May 5, 2020 British and American spooks have issued an urgent warning after uncovering a string of cyber attacks launched by rival states against healthcare organisations fighting coronavirus. Healthcare bodies, pharmaceutical companies and local government organisations in the UK and US have all been targeted in the attacks, which are aimed at gathering information about the Covid-19 outbreak. [...]
Quicker testing would have been ‘beneficial’ says chief scientific adviser May 5, 2020 The UK’s chief scientific adviser has told MPs it would have been “beneficial” to have ramped up testing for coronavirus quicker. Sir Patrick Vallance told the Commons Health Select Committee that testing alone would not control the virus. The UK government moved away from contact tracing and testing in the community before lockdown started. Instead, [...]
Rishi Sunak considers cutting furlough pay to 60 per cent of wages May 5, 2020 As part of a review of the job retention scheme, the government is reportedly considering cutting the 80 per cent wage subsidy to 60 per cent for furloughed staff. The job retention scheme sees the government pay 80 per cent of wages, up to £2,500 a month, to 6.3m furloughed workers. However, chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
Recipe box firm Hello Fresh hikes full-year guidance amid coronavirus lockdown boom May 5, 2020 Recipe box firm Hello Fresh has hiked its full-year guidance following a surge in demand in the first quarter of the year as customers ordered deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic. Expected group revenue growth is expected to be between 40 per cent to 55 per cent, from a previous estimate of 22 per cent to [...]
Watch: London’s 1945 VE Celebrations May 5, 2020 Londoners may not be packing the streets for the 75th anniversary of VE Day this Friday, but the capital’s screen archivists have pulled together compelling footage of the first to give a flavour of the original celebrations. London’s Screen Archives, a network of more than 70 heritage and history organisations across the capital, have found [...]
Sky launches £1m advertising fund for small businesses May 5, 2020 Sky has today launched a £1m fund that will provide free TV advertising campaigns to 100 small businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis. The scheme is available to small and medium sized businesses that have been running for at least a year in the UK with up to 50 full-time employees. Companies can nominate themselves [...]
Qantas halts plans for non-stop flights to London and New York May 5, 2020 Australian airline Qantas has suspended plans to commence record-breaking non-stop flights to London and New York due to disruption caused by coronavirus. It was reported that the carrier has made the decision to delay the so-called “Project Sunrise”, which was due to launch in 2023, for an indefinite period. As a result, the airline has [...]
