Hunting shafts of light amid coronavirus’s economic gloom May 1, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will cause world GDP to shrink by about seven per cent during the first half of the year – roughly double the scale of contraction seen during the global financial crisis. That is the headline finding from Oxford Economics’ April/May 2020 ‘World Economic Prospects’ report. The number is shocking but unsurprising given [...]
Why RBS killed digital bank Bo only five months after launch May 1, 2020 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has abandoned its challenger bank Bo just five months after launching it. In an already dire update on its first quarter performance today, RBS said it would “wind down Bo as a customer-facing brand” after launching it only in November. The Bo platform will instead be integrated with Mettle, [...]
McDonald’s to reopen for delivery this month May 1, 2020 McDonald’s will reopen some UK restaurants for delivery this month after trialling social distancing measures. The fast food giant will open 15 stores on 13 May, offering a limited menu for delivery only, after successful social distancing trials this week. McDonald’s UK and Ireland chief executive Paul Pomroy said the restaurants selected to reopen will [...]
FTSE 100 extends losses after worst daily drop in a month May 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 extended its losses today after suffering its worst daily drop in a month yesterday as dire economic reports and weak earnings weighed on traders. London’s blue-chip index was down roughly 2.3 per cent at 5,762 points by around 10.20am today. By the mid-afternoon the FTSE 100 had trimmed its drop to just [...]
Stocks sink as US manufacturing shrinks at ‘unprecedented rate’ May 1, 2020 US markets fell as trading opened today as manufacturing slumped at an unprecedented rate in April due to economic shutdowns caused by coronavirus. The S&P 500 fell 1.9 per cent to 2,856.14 points, the Dow Jones dropped 1.8 per cent to 23,901.77, and the Nasdaq fell 2.1 per cent to 2852.28. US factories saw output [...]
Why does investing in UK SMEs matter? May 1, 2020 The UK has seen an explosion of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the past 10 years, bringing with it a love for supporting brave entrepreneurs, innovative start-ups and high street boutiques. The UK currently boasts more than six million SMEs – businesses with fewer than 250 employees – which employ close to 16 million [...]
Management considerations in the time of coronavirus May 1, 2020 Original and useful leadership guidance is tough to produce at the best of times. Unfortunately, we are clearly not in the best of times and there can be no playbook for being a Covid-19 leader. It is impossible to speak with complete authority in this unprecedented environment about how best to run a business, department [...]
What is the ‘new normal’ post Covid-19? May 1, 2020 Everyone has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. On both a work and personal level difficult decisions have been taken, sacrifices have been made, challenges faced, and losses endured. We are going to have to reform our expectations of what the ‘new normal’ should be. So, what may the new ‘normal’ look like? Employees’ health [...]
Moderna and Lonza strike deal to produce possible Covid-19 vaccine May 1, 2020 Moderna and Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza have today announced a deal aimed at manufacturing 1bn doses a year of a potential Covid-19 vaccine. The experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1273, is being tested in an early-stage trial by the US National Institutes for Health. The US drug developer expects to start a mid-stage trial in the second [...]
Coronavirus: Government optimistic UK will hit 100,000 daily testing target May 1, 2020 The government is likely to hit or come close to its daily coronavirus testing target of 100,000 today, according to housing minister Robert Jenrick. As of yesterday morning, the UK had carried out 80,000 tests – 20,000 short of the original target set by health secretary Matt Hancock a month ago. Hitting the goal would [...]
