Easyjet CEO says founder’s calls for his sacking are ‘a distraction’ April 16, 2020 Easyjet’s chief executive has said that calls for his removal from the airline’s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are “a distraction” and “quite frankly unhelpful”. Speaking to City A.M., Johan Lundgren said that his focus was “completely on managing this business through the worst crisis the aviation industry has ever seen. Lundgren’s comments came after Haji-Ioannou, [...]
Competition watchdog revokes ban on Takeway.com and Just Eat integration April 16, 2020 Just Eat Takeway has been given the go-ahead to integrate the two food delivery businesses after the UK’s competition watchdog revoked an order to keep the firms separate. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued an initial enforcement order in January, which prevented the two food delivery firms from integrating their businesses. Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com bought [...]
Coronavirus: More than 5m Americans made new jobless claims last week April 16, 2020 The number of Americans making new jobless claims topped 5.2m last week, official figures have shown, as the coronavirus crisis crashes the economy and sends unemployment skyrocketing. The figure compares to 6.6m new claims last week. It takes the number of people who have made new jobless claims in the last month to an astounding [...]
Shell unveils plan to become a net zero emissions firm by 2050 April 16, 2020 Oil giant Shell has become the latest supermajor to announce plans to become a net-zero energy emissions business by 2050. The firm’s announcement follows similar decisions by rivals like BP, but comes as the oil and gas sector faces its biggest challenge in decades due to the coronavirus-driven collapse of oil prices. The company said [...]
UK would ‘say no’ to EU request for extension of Brexit trade talks April 16, 2020 The UK will refuse any request for a Brexit trade deal extension by the EU, according to the Prime Minister’s official spokesman. On a call to journalists today, the spokesman reiterated the governmnt’s position, saying that an extension to the 31 December deadline would hamper the UK’s longterm response to the coronavirus crisis. UK chief [...]
Sky donates £500,000 to emergency coronavirus film and TV fund April 16, 2020 Sky today said it will donate £500,000 to an emergency relief fund aimed at supporting film and TV crew unable to work during the coronavirus crisis. The fund was established last month by BFI and the Film and TV Charity with an initial £1m donation from streaming giant Netflix. It will provide grants to thousands [...]
Tiktok bans direct messaging for under-16s amid safety concerns April 16, 2020 Tiktok will ban users under the age of 16 from sending direct messages as the platform looks to improve safety and stave off concerns about harmful material. The video-sharing platform, which is popular with teenagers, today said that from 30 April new and existing users who do not meet the age requirements will no longer [...]
London fintech firm Previse secures $11m in funding round April 16, 2020 London-based fintech startup Previse has secured $11m (£8.8m) in fresh funding as the invoice payment platform defied wider economic gloom sparked by the coronavirus crisis. Previse, which was founded in 2016, uses artificial intelligence to help suppliers get invoices paid instantly when no manual intervention is needed. The King’s Cross-headquartered firm currently processes more than [...]
Recipe box firm Gousto secures £33m investment as coronavirus boosts business April 16, 2020 Recipe box firm Gousto has secured £33m in new funding from investors including celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks, as growth in the meal-kit market has been accelerated by the coronavirus outbreak. The funding round was led by Perwyn, BGF, and MMC Ventures and Joe Wicks, taking the total funds raised to more than £130m in [...]
UK must beef up coronavirus economic response, says think tank April 16, 2020 The UK government must take “further radical policy steps” to tackle the economic fallout from coronavirus, a think tank has said, amid huge uncertainty over the length of the outbreak. The Resolution Foundation praised the government’s response so far, which includes £330bn of lending and a scheme to pay furloughed workers’ wages. Yet it said [...]
