Wall Street suffers worst week since 2008 as US imposes coronavirus restrictions March 21, 2020 Wall Street saw further losses on Friday to continue the recent rout as it suffered its worst week since the financial crisis of 2008. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes were down more than four per cent on Friday despite making gains earlier on. All three major indexes registered their biggest weekly declines since [...]
Coronavirus wage bailout: Government to cover 80 per cent of workers’ salaries up to £2,500 March 20, 2020 The government will pay up to 80 per cent, or £2,500, of the salaries of British workers hit by the UK coronavirus crisis in a huge wage bailout. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the extraordinary measures today after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered all pubs and restaurants, cafes and gyms to shut their doors tonight and [...]
GBP / EUR update March 20, 2020 As everywhere across the world, everything in the UK has been accelerating at pace and the pound has paid the price. Whilst not always at the bottom of the pile, sterling has been struggling and hit a 35-year low against the US dollar. Measures to address all aspects of the crisis were well-received by investors [...]
Coronavirus: Marks & Spencer warns on profit as it considers store closures March 20, 2020 Marks & Spencer issued a coronavirus-related profit warning today and alerted investors it may close stores temporarily amid the UK’s Covid-19 outbreak. Its clothing and home divisions have suffered a big hit already from the UK coronavirus crisis, Marks & Spencer warned. As a result profit could fall below expectations of £440m to £460m. “The [...]
Deutsche Bank warns of material impact from coronavirus pandemic March 20, 2020 Deutsche Bank has warned that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic may affect its ability to meet financial targets as the lender undergoes a radial overhaul following years of losses. The warning is the first time Germany’s largest bank has publicly expressed concerns over the impact of the outbreak, which has disrupted Deutsche’s operations [...]
M&A in the UK falls a third on coronavirus and recession fears March 20, 2020 Dealmaking in the UK fell off a cliff this month with outbound M&A dropping to a seven-year low, as activity slowed amid the coronavirus outbreak. The global pandemic has sent markets into a frenzy, fuelling fears of severe damage to the economy and forcing central banks to take drastic emergency stimulus measures since the financial [...]
London hospital Northwick Park declares critical incident after surge in coronavirus cases March 20, 2020 London hospital Northwick Park in Harrow has declared a “critical incident” after experiencing a surge in coronavirus patients. In a message to staff seen by the Health Service Journal, Northwick Park Hospital said it has no critical care capacity left and has contacted neighbouring hospitals about transferring patients who need critical care to other sites. [...]
Selling your home? Think twice before dismissing the first offer March 20, 2020 There are numerous examples that I can recall where we have received a good offer for a property very soon after bringing it to the market, sometimes in a matter of days – only to have the owner reject the offer on the basis that it has been ‘too quick’. More often than not, this [...]
Labour’s Ian Murray: We need universal basic income to beat coronavirus March 20, 2020 The government must introduce a universal basic income to protect the UK’s most vulnerable workers amid a coronavirus-fuelled economic downturn, Labour deputy leadership contender Ian Murray warned this week. He also called on Boris Johnson to step up measures to protect businesses in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic – or risk “local community businesses [...]
Government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme ‘not fit for purpose’, says consultancy March 20, 2020 The government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme “is not fit for purpose”, according to international consultancy and economic analysis firm Fideres. The London-based company, which specialises in competition economics, says the government’s strategy fails to meet three basic criteria. Fideres argues that the loan scheme is not simple, fast or fair. The consultancy says it [...]
