Analysis: US crude oil price collapses as stocks near capacity April 20, 2020 This morning’s collapse in the price of West Texas crude oil has left investors speculating whether US president Donald Trump might bail out the struggling shale industry, which has been decimated by the coronavirus crisis. The US benchmark crude fell below $15 today, its lowest level in 21 years, amid fears that production would have [...]
Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods boosts sales as shoppers stockpile sweet treats April 20, 2020 Shares in Premier Foods jumped almost 25 per cent in early trading today after the firm said it had experienced a sharp rise in demand during the coronavirus outbreak. The Mr Kipling maker said it expected sales to rise roughly 3.6 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter and 10.5 per cent in [...]
Plus500 chief executive Asaf Elimelech resigns with immediate effect April 20, 2020 Plus500 chief executive Asaf Elimelech has resigned from the company with immediate effect, after four years at the helm. The group’s chief operating officer, David Zruia, will assume the role of interim boss alongside his day to day responsibilities until a permanent replacement is found. Elimelech has a notice period of 12 months and will [...]
New Aston Martin boss focused on restarting production April 20, 2020 Aston Martin’s new chairman Lawrence Stroll has said that his priority is to restart the firm’s manufacturing operations as he takes over the company in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. The Canadian billionaire, who agreed in January to take a 20 per cent stake in the luxury car maker, said he was taking charge [...]
DFS mulls equity issue to soften impact of extended coronavirus lockdown April 20, 2020 DFS has confirmed it is in the process of negotiating additional funding and is preparing a equity issue in order to cushion the blow of the coronavirus pandemic. The sofa retailer said it was negotiating an additional debt facility of £60-70m with its existing lenders, to supplement the existing bank facility of £250m. Alongside this [...]
Coronavirus: London finance jobseekers surge by 43 per cent April 20, 2020 The number of London finance professionals seeking employment has surged over 40 per cent in the first three months of 2020 even as coronavirus hit salaries and vacancies, new data showed today. Jobseekers in the UK finance industry rocketed 43 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2019, according to Morgan McKinley’s Spring London [...]
Coronavirus: Here comes the startup chancellor April 20, 2020 Startups are the economy’s ‘department for the future.’ Their job is to future-proof all the other sectors – from retail and banking through ecommerce to public services. They are vital to the UK’s post-Brexit, post-Covid-19 future. They are also among its most vulnerable. Look up ‘start-up’ in the Cambridge Dictionary and the first example of [...]
Coronavirus: The pragmatism and innovation of the City is on full show April 20, 2020 The importance of technology to our everyday lives has become crystal clear over the last few weeks as we all adjust to staying and working from home to protect the NHS and save lives. This transition has been remarkably swift with the pragmatism and innovation of City workers and businesses coming to the fore. In [...]
Coronavirus: The Chinese Communist Party should not be forgiven April 20, 2020 From a complacent pre-virus fairy tale, we are now very much in the midst of a nightmare. But there is a definite intellectual upside to crises, for they clarify reality wonderfully. In this column in January, I baldly and rightly forecasted that the coming year would see the emergence of a Sino-American Cold War as [...]
Coronavirus: Decision to cut Tube services caused overcrowding, say transport watchdogs April 20, 2020 A decision made by Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) to reduce Tube services has caused overcrowding during the coronavirus lockdown, according to the UK’s two largest transport watchdogs. The mayor of London, on numerous occasions, blamed overcrowding on some Tube lines to people using the network unnecessarily at peak times. This caused a [...]