From stamp duty to the triple lock, Andy Haldane says bold Burnham leadership can usher ‘vibe change’ for UK economy
Astrazeneca partners with Oxford University to manufacture coronavirus vaccine April 30, 2020 Drugs giant Astrazeneca has partnered with Oxford University to manufacture its potential Covid-19 vaccine, the firm announced this morning. The vaccine, which is being developed by the Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Unit, is one of 70 treatments worldwide that is under development to counter the coronavirus disease. Last week the first human trials [...]
NMC Health founder claims he is a victim of ‘serious fraud’ April 30, 2020 The founder of beleaguered hospital operator NMC Health has dismissed allegations and claimed he is a victim of “serious fraud”. In a rare public statement, BR Shetty said internal investigations had shown that “serious fraud and wrongdoing appears to have taken place at NMC, Finablr, as well as within some of my private companies, and [...]
Shell cuts dividend as earnings halve in first quarter April 30, 2020 Oil giant Shell today reduced its dividend by 66 per cent after earnings fell by 46 per cent in the first quarter due to the coronavirus crisis. The decision to reduce the dividend is the first time the firm has done so since World War Two, and means it has relinquished its position as the [...]
Facebook earnings: Shares leap despite lowest growth since 2012 April 30, 2020 Facebook’s shares jumped almost 10 per cent in after hours trading following a surprisingly upbeat set of first quarter results from the tech giant. Following Alphabet’s figures earlier this week, all eyes were on Facebook to see how the Covid-19 crisis has hit social media. Here are three key takeaways from the numbers: 1. The [...]
Lloyds first quarter profit crashes 95 per cent on coronavirus April 30, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group posted a huge 95 per cent fall in profit for the first quarter of 2020 today as the coronavirus crisis took hold in the UK. Profit before tax slumped to £74m from £1.6bn the previous year as Lloyds took a massive impairment charge of £1.43bn as it expects bad loans to mount [...]
JD Wetherspoon raises £141m as pub chain plans for June reopening April 30, 2020 JD Wetherspoon has raised £141m through a share placing to shore up its finances during the coronavirus crisis, as the pub chain gears up for a June reopening. The equity raise completed this morning will help the company cope with the low sales levels expected when it reopens after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, it [...]
SoftBank warns of steeper losses as it takes hit on WeWork April 30, 2020 SoftBank has warned of further losses on investments outside its Vision Fund, piling pressure on founder Masayoshi Son’s bet on the struggling WeWork. The Japanese company widened its forecast for a net loss in the year ended in March from 750bn to 900m yen (£6.7bn). SoftBank said it expects to lose 700bn yen on a [...]
Office Politics: Communication has never been so important April 30, 2020 The work force of 2020 has changed. As many as 60 per cent of workers no longer work in a traditional environment – almost a fifth normally work at home and a similar number use shared office spaces. Around a third are often on the road or with clients. Plenty do some days in all [...]
Interactive Investor revenue jumps 61 per cent as it doubles number of customers April 30, 2020 Interactive Investor has doubled the number of new customers in the first-quarter, pushing net revenue up 61 per cent. The online investment platform reported net revenue of £31.1m for the first-quarter, up from £19.3m in the same period last year. Profit before tax grew 55 per cent from £5.8m to £9m. The strong figures are [...]
