Brexit trade deal ‘won’t happen’ unless EU changes fisheries stance by June April 30, 2020 The UK’s Brexit negotiating team does not expect a trade deal to be done before the 31 December deadline if the EU does not change its position on fisheries and the so-called level playing field by June. The two areas have become major flashpoints in the first two rounds of UK-EU talks, with negotiators from [...]
British Airways to axe a quarter of pilots amid 12,000 job cuts April 30, 2020 British Airways owner IAG expects to make a quarter of its pilots redundant as part of a scheme that could axe 12,000 jobs. The airline said it will reduce its pilot headcount by 955 for what it termed “volume adjustment” and a further 175 it pinned on “efficiency changes”. That would cull 1,130 pilots out [...]
Comcast profit drops as Covid-19 shutdown offsets broadband boost April 30, 2020 Comcast today reported a sharp drop in profit for the first quarter as the shutdown of cinemas and theme parks due to the coronavirus outbreak offset a rise in broadband usage. The US media giant posted net income of $2.1bn (£1.7bn) in the first three months of the year, down almost 40 per cent year [...]
Coronavirus small business loan lending tops £4.1bn but concerns remain over scheme April 30, 2020 Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) lending has topped £4.1bn, according to bank industry body UK Finance. Over £1.33bn of loans were approved in the week to 28 April. The number of loans provided through the scheme has increased by 8,638 over the same period to a total of 25,262, an increase of over 50 [...]
Coronavirus inquiry must not be ‘a finger-pointing exercise’ April 30, 2020 A post-coronavirus inquiry should not turn into a politicised “finger-pointing exercise”, according to the chief of the UK’s national academy for humanities and social sciences. Chief executive of the British Academy Hetan Shah told City A.M.‘s daily podcast The City View that an inquiry into the government’s response should be done on a “no-fault basis” [...]
B&Q reopens all 288 stores after social distancing measures implemented April 30, 2020 B&Q has reopened all of its UK stores from today after implementing new social distancing measures. The DIY retailer said all of its 288 stores were now open following temporary closures when the UK coronavirus lockdown was announced last month. Hardware shops were included on the government’s list of essential retailers that are allowed to [...]
At the height of coronavirus, corporate insolvencies are falling April 30, 2020 Corporate insolvencies fell in the first quarter despite the economic impact of coronavirus, figures released today show. Office for National Statistics data showed there were 3,883 company insolvencies in the first quarter, a decrease of 8.5 per cent from both the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2019. Duncan Swift, past president of insolvency [...]
St James’s Place trims dividend as first-quarter AUM falls April 30, 2020 St James’s Place has withheld a third of its planned dividend after assets under management fell amid the sustained market volatility. The wealth manager said it was “not immune to how the unprecedented level of uncertainty may impact the operating environment”. Read more: St James’s Place posts five per cent profit fall as inflows slow [...]
Coronavirus: Glencore set to cut spending as production falls April 30, 2020 Glencore said that it would cut capital spending and production guidance for the year but stressed that it was well-placed to weather the coronavirus storm. Shares in the firm fell over one per cent in the morning’s trading. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the commodities giant to halt operations in countries such as South Africa, [...]
High street jobs lost as no buyer found for Oasis and Warehouse stores April 30, 2020 Oasis and Warehouse have become the latest high street casualties of the coronavirus crisis after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the stores, resulting in 1,803 redundancies. The retailer’s intellectual property assets and certain stock have been sold to Hilco Capital. The group, which includes the Oasis, Warehouse and The Idle Man brands, [...]
