Lifting coronavirus restrictions could lead to second peak, says Number 10 April 20, 2020 Easing the country’s coronavirus social distancing restrictions too quickly could cause a second peak of infections, Downing Street has warned. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman poured cold water on the suggestions the lockdown could be eased next month, saying it could mean the virus would “begin to spread exponentially again”. The Sunday Times reported yesterday [...]
Coronavirus: Primark agrees £370m deal with suppliers after backlash April 20, 2020 Primark has agreed to pay an extra £370m to suppliers after the budget retailer was criticised for cancelling orders during the coronavirus lockdown. The high street giant announced this morning that it will now “take all product that was both in production and finished, and planned for handover by 17 April”. Primark had previously committed [...]
US stocks tumble as oil price plunges and lawmakers debate lockdowns April 20, 2020 US stocks have tumbled at the open as plunging crude oil prices and debates over the timetable for lifting coronavirus lockdown measures weigh on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones index dropped 1.5 per cent in early trading. The S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.8 per cent. European shares also turned [...]
FTSE 100 dragged down by coronavirus oil crash April 20, 2020 The FTSE 100 has turned lower as a slump in oil prices hits energy companies and investor sentiment sours with coronavirus battering the economy. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.8 per cent at 5,743 points in early afternoon trading. It spent much of the morning in the green before plunging oil prices spread gloom over [...]
UK coronavirus lockdown: Consumers spend more on video games and online shopping April 20, 2020 Britons have been spending more on video games and with Amazon, Apple and Argos during the UK coronavirus lockdown, according to the latest research. Digital bank Starling said its customers spent almost 300 per cent more on Playstation and Nintendo in the week ending 5 April compared to the week to 15 March, before the [...]
Job retention scheme receives nearly 70,000 applications in 30 minutes April 20, 2020 The government’s wage subsidy scheme received almost 70,000 applications in the first 30 minutes of opening this morning as businesses rush to claims funds to pay furloughed staff. The job retention scheme sees the government pay 80 per cent of wages, up to £2,500 a month, for furloughed employees unable to work due to the [...]
Coronavirus cancellations set to cost global sports industry $62bn April 20, 2020 The global sports industry is set to miss out on almost $62bn (£50bn) of revenue this year as almost half of all sports events are scrapped due to the coronavirus outbreak. The sector is forecast to generate $73.7bn of revenue in 2020 — roughly 45 per cent lower than the $135bn projected before the pandemic, [...]
UK house prices dip as coronavirus lockdown makes sales ‘almost impossible’ April 20, 2020 UK house prices dipped during the coronavirus lockdown as experts warned the housing market was barely functioning due to the restrictions. The latest data from Rightmove showed that the average price of property coming to market dipped 0.2 per cent to £311,950. In April last year UK house prices increased 2.1 per cent. However, Rightmove [...]
Coronavirus crisis could affect 59m jobs across Europe April 20, 2020 The devastating economic effects of the coronavirus lockdown could affect 59m jobs across Europe, according to a reporting published today by consultancy giant McKinsey. The research said 26 per cent of total jobs across the 27 member state of the European Union plus the UK could be affected by reductions in hours or pay, temporary [...]
Metro Bank to return £11.4m to customers after breaching unarranged overdraft charge rules April 20, 2020 Metro Bank is to return £11.4m to customers after it breached a legal order by failing to send texts warning people about unarranged overdraft charges. The Competition and Markets Authorty (CMA) said the bank breached Part 6 of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 which requires banks to warn [...]
