Business groups welcome start of UK-US trade talks May 5, 2020 Business groups have welcomed the start of UK-US trade talks today, urging the government to concentrate on Britain’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in negotiations. International trade secretary Liz Truss will host a video conference call with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer today to signal the start of negotiations. The first round of talks [...]
The City View podcast, from City A.M., with Michael Spencer May 4, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by billionaire financier and City grandee Michael Spencer. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Spencer urges the government to “be brave” in easing the UK out of lockdown – a state of affairs he described as “agonising”. He warns of lasting damage [...]
GE plans to cut up to 13,000 jobs in further blow to US aviation sector May 4, 2020 General Electric (GE) said today it is planning on cutting the global workforce of its aviation unit by as much as 25 per cent, or up to 13,000 jobs. The announcement is the latest blow to fall on the beleaguered aviation sector which has been hit hard by the freeze in travel triggered by the [...]
Universal credit claims hit 1.8m during coronavirus crisis May 4, 2020 The British government received 1.8m Universal Credit benefits claims between 16 March and the end of April, work and pensions minister Therese Coffey said today. Universal Credit is paid to people in work as well as those who have lost their jobs. Coffey said the volume of claims was six times the normal rate and [...]
Private equity funds set to target Aim-listed firms May 4, 2020 Private equity funds are expected to target Aim-listed companies once lockdown has eased and dealmaking is resumed. The number of private equity-backed deals for Aim companies trebled in the past 12 months. PE funds bought and took 12 companies private in 2019/20, compared to just four deals in the previous year ended 31 March. Aim [...]
TfL should increase fares to promote social distancing, says think tank May 4, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) should increase fare prices at peak times once the coronavirus lockdown is eased, according to one of the country’s top think tanks. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released a new report today, suggesting measures such as increased fare prices would act as a disincentive for people catching public transport once [...]
Coronavirus ‘test, track and trace’ app trial launches tomorrow May 4, 2020 The Isle of Wight will trial the UK’s coronavirus “test, track and trace” app from tomorrow, health secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed. Hancock said that health workers will begin to pilot the app on the island tomorrow, before extending it to all 140,000 islanders later this week. The health secretary said the app would supplement [...]
US factory orders plunged 10.3 per cent in March May 4, 2020 Orders for US-made goods plunged 10.3 per cent in March, and could fall further as coronavirus shutters the economy. The US Department of Commerce said factory orders declined 10.3 per cent, as coronavirus lockdown measures began to shut down the economy. The steeper than expected fall in orders came as orders for both durable and [...]
US airline stocks buffeted by Warren’s surprise sell-off May 4, 2020 US airline stocks have dropped sharply today as markets reacted to veteran trader Warren Buffett’s decision to sell all of his firm’s stakes in the US’ four main carriers. At the end of last year, Berkshire Hathaway held considerable positions in the four, including 11 per cent of Delta, 10 per cent of American Airlines, [...]
Lloyds boss: Coronavirus business loan scheme was ‘painful’ and ‘flawed’ when launched May 4, 2020 The launch of the government’s coronavirus business loan scheme was “painful” and “flawed”, according to one of the top bosses of Lloyds Bank. David Oldfield, group director and chief executive of commercial banking at Lloyds, said today that the government’s emergency loan scheme was “cumbersome and onerous” when it launched. He added that he still [...]
