Coronavirus: Eurozone economy suffers record hit in March April 3, 2020 The Eurozone economy suffered the biggest blow on record in March, survey data has shown, as coronavirus containment efforts all but stopped activity. The IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a closely watched gauge of the health of the euro area economy – crashed to 29.7 in March from 51.6 in February. A score [...]
Stagecoach furloughs staff as government bails out bus firms April 3, 2020 Stagecoach has furloughed more than half of its regional bus staff after bus sales plunged amid the coronavirus lockdown. With commercial sales at local regional bus companies at around 15 per cent of “normal” levels, Stagecoach has already furloughed around 55 per cent of its bus drivers and engineering staff. Stagecoach’s update came as the [...]
COVID-19: What practical measures can businesses take to keep operating? April 3, 2020 EY’s latest COVID-19 webcast focused on the pressing challenge of business continuity, asking what measures companies can practically take to keep operating in these extraordinary circumstances. Clearly, businesses are dealing with very different and evolving sets of challenges – from companies experiencing massively increased sales, to those battling sudden falls in demand and businesses who [...]
Coronavirus selloff helps CMC Markets double revenue April 3, 2020 Online trading firm CMC Markets said it nearly doubled its annual net trading revenue, bolstered by last month’s coronavirus-induced selloff. In a pre-close trading update, the firm said it expects revenue from its contracts for difference business to be around £241m, up from £110.2m a year earlier. CMC said it had had “strong underlying performance” [...]
Coronavirus: Sainsbury’s to ease stockpiling restrictions on products April 3, 2020 Sainsbury’s will begin removing coronavirus stockpiling restrictions from its supermarket goods from this Sunday, it said today. The supermarket said a combination of more supply and panic buying measures means there is finally more stock on the shelves, prompting it to ease stockpiling measures. Restrictions are no longer in place on Easter eggs. However, buying [...]
FTSE 100 falls as oil prices slip and coronavirus spreads April 3, 2020 The FTSE 100 has fallen at the bell after oil prices slipped and the number of global coronavirus cases topped 1m. Britain’s oil-heavy FTSE 100 index was 1.3 per cent lower just after the open at 5,411 points. The benchmark had risen roughly 0.8 per cent the day before. European markets were also lower. The [...]
Asian stocks slip on oil and coronavirus pessimism April 3, 2020 Asian stocks dropped overnight as oil prices pared some of their gains and investors braced themselves for another weekend of headlines about the spread of coronavirus. China’s Shanghai composite index fell 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.7 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.1 per cent. Australia’s S&P ASX fell 1.7 per [...]
Primark bosses take 50 per cent pay cut over coronavirus April 3, 2020 Primark bosses have taken a 50 per cent pay cut and cancelled bonuses after warning of a huge slump in 2020 profit due to coronavirus. Chief executive Paul Marchant’s base pay will be halved temporarily. George Weston and John Bason, CEO and chief financial officer of Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF), will also take [...]
UK consumer confidence plunges after deepest quarterly decline on record April 3, 2020 UK consumer confidence in the first quarter of the year fell nine percentage points as the coronavirus pandemic hit home. Confidence in job security fell 15 percentage points from the previous quarter to -20, Deloitte’s consumer tracker showed. Sentiment in the state of the economy fell to -71, with consumers signposting a further three percentage [...]
UK retail sales: Coronavirus triggers worst month on record April 3, 2020 UK retail sales plummeted to the worst levels on record in March as footfall plunged and non-essential stores were forced to close amid the coronavirus pandemic. Like-for-like UK retail sales at physical stores fell by a record 34.1 per cent and total like-for-like sales, both in-store and online combined, fell 17.9 per cent. Lifestyle and [...]
