Health clinics blasted by ad watchdog over IV drip coronavirus claims April 22, 2020 The advertising watchdog has hit out at three companies over claims that intravenous (IV) drip treatments could be used to prevent or treat coronavirus. An advert on Private Harley Street Clinic’s website promoted a £350 IV infusion by stating it would boost patients’ immune systems and protect against Covid-19. “There is no vaccine available at [...]
UK marketing budgets suffer sharpest drop since 2009 crash April 22, 2020 UK marketing budgets declined at the fastest rate since the 2009 global financial crisis in the first quarter as consumers and businesses cut spend due to the coronavirus crisis. A net balance of -6.1 per cent of companies slashed their total marketing budgets in the first three months of the year, according to the latest [...]
Netflix subscribers surge as millions stream shows during coronavirus lockdowns April 21, 2020 Streaming giant Netflix signed up 15m new subscribers in the first quarter of the year, double the number it expected, as millions of viewers binged boxsets at home during global coronavirus lockdowns. The surge in subscription numbers was more than double the 7m net new subscribers that the company had forecast. The company also beat [...]
June oil futures crash as market grapples with unprecedented glut April 21, 2020 Prices for June oil contracts dramatically crashed this evening as the market faces the prospect of massive oversupply amid plunging demand. The price for a June West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude future contract fell below $10 (£8.14) this evening, following yesterday’s drastic crash of May WTI contracts. Yesterday, May WTI future contracts went negative for [...]
City minister John Glen praises frontline financial services staff for coronavirus efforts April 21, 2020 City minister John Glen has thanked frontline financial services staff for their “vital” role during the coronavirus crisis. In a letter published today, Glen said the services provided by bank branch and contact centre workers will be a “lifeline” to many during the pandemic. He praised the “herculean efforts” to help customers in financial difficulty [...]
Rental moves to drop 25 per cent in 2020 due to coronavirus lockdown April 21, 2020 Rental moves are set to fall by a quarter this year due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, according to the latest research. There are around 1.2m moves each year in the UK lettings market, but the number is expected to plummet 25 per cent in 2020 compared to last year. However, demand for [...]
Oil: Where do we go from here? April 21, 2020 Oil has collapsed. So how did we get here? Oil has fallen roughly 70% YTD, one of the biggest falls in history, as a result of a combination of supply and demand factors. When Covid-19 was first announced the markets were hesitant about its impact and continued to trade as normal until it started to [...]
Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine trials to start Thursday April 21, 2020 A potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at Oxford University will have its first trials on Thursday after receiving £20m in government funding. Health secretary Matt Hancock announced today that the government was funding the trial, along with another out of Imperial College which has been given £22.5m. Hancock said the two teams were “two of [...]
Exclusive: Businesses call for bank-by-bank breakdown of coronavirus lending April 21, 2020 British businesses have called on industry body UK Finance to publish a bank-by-bank breakdown of lending through the coronavirus support scheme, as it emerges that Natwest has so far made roughly half of all loans through the programme. Data from Natwest today showed that as of Sunday evening the group (formerly called RBS) had approved [...]
Furloughed hospitality workers could lose ‘up to 40 per cent’ of wages April 21, 2020 Businesses are seeking legal advice over the government’s job retention scheme amidst fears that millions of furloughed hospitality workers could be denied large chunks of their wages. The scheme – which sees the government pays 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 a month to furloughed workers – was rolled out yesterday, with 185,000 [...]
