Exclusive: Car industry calls for coronavirus stimulus to jumpstart recovery May 4, 2020 The UK car industry has called for a government stimulus package and extended furlough support to help it recover from the coronavirus crisis. Speaking to City A.M., Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said the government will need to jumpstart the sector in order to get demand going [...]
Tate & Lyle suffers slump in demand during coronavirus lockdown May 4, 2020 Tate & Lyle suffered a drop in demand for its products last month due to the closure of restaurants, cinemas and bars. The company said bulk sweetener volume in the US was 26 per cent lower due to reduced out-of-home consumption during coronavirus lockdowns. Meanwhile industrial starch volume was nine per cent lower as demand [...]
Eurozone investors deeply pessimistic in May amid coronavirus May 4, 2020 Eurozone investors remained deeply gloomy at the start of May, a survey has shown, although there was a minor improvement as countries such as Germany and Austria start to ease coronavirus lockdowns. The Sentix Eurozone investor sentiment index came in at minus 41.8 in May. This was below expectations of a pick up to minus [...]
Oil prices slip on fears of renewed US-China trade war May 4, 2020 Oil prices dropped this morning after last week’s gains amid fears that heightening tensions between the US and China could impair global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. After their first week of gains in over a month last week, both worldwide benchmark Brent crude and US standard West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped back. Having [...]
Environmental protestors target HS2 London sites May 4, 2020 Environmental protestors have this morning targeted HS2 sites across London, including at Euston station, saying that money from the project should be funnelled to the NHS instead. As part of a day-long action against the controversial rail project, protestors are blockading sites across London, including at Colne Valley, a natural park in west London. At [...]
Coronavirus: Eurozone factory output plunges at fastest pace on record May 4, 2020 Eurozone manufacturing output plunged at the fastest pace on record in April, survey data has confirmed, as coronavirus lockdowns caused production and trade to dry up. The IHS Markit Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge of the health of the sector, fell to 33.4 in April. This was the lowest score ever recorded [...]
Defence minister: China has questions to answer over Covid-19 outbreak May 4, 2020 China has questions to answer over the information it supplied about the outbreak of coronavirus, defence minister Ben Wallace has said. Speaking to LBC radio this morning, Wallace said China should be held to account over how quickly it made the world aware of the extent of the crisis. However, he said the “post mortem” [...]
Hotel Chocolat secures £25m coronavirus loan as disruption expected until end of 2020 May 4, 2020 Hotel Chocolat announced this morning it has secured a £25m coronavirus large business interruption loan (CLBIL) as it warned that the pandemic could continue to impact trading throughout the rest of 2020. The high street retailer said it had agreed a £35m revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank, replacing its previous £10m overdraft facility. The [...]
Half of top law firms had less than one month’s cash pre-coronavirus crisis May 4, 2020 More than half of the UK’s top law firms have insufficient cash on their balance sheets to cover one month’s operating expenses, according to new research. Analysis of the limited liability partnerships (LLP) accounts of 40 law firms with a combined revenue in excess of £15bn by litigation funder Augusta Ventures found 55 per cent [...]
