Airline stocks in freefall as travel restrictions take hold March 16, 2020 Virgin Atlantic, Easyjet and British Airways owner are scaling back flights after a number of countries imposed travel restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak. British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) and Easyjet will ground aircraft on an unprecedented scale in an attempt to mitigate the effect of the travel restrictions. Virgin Atlantic said it [...]
CBI boss calls for ‘fast’ action to help businesses March 16, 2020 The boss of the CBI has called for the government to help firms under threat from coronavirus. Dame Carolyn Fairbairn used an appearance on the BBC’s Today programme this morning to highlight the drop in demand facing businesses due to increased social distancing. This comes after the coronavirus crisis continued to escalate. “The severity of [...]
Chinese economy nosedives as virus outbreak hits factories March 16, 2020 China’s factory production slumped to its lowest level on record in the first two months of the year as the coronavirus outbreak wreaked havoc for the world’s second-largest economy. Analysts said the shock was worse than the financial crisis decade ago and reinforced fears that the epidemic may have cut China’s economic growth in half [...]
Coronavirus: Australian shares suffer worst fall on record as Asia slides March 16, 2020 Australian shares today suffered their biggest daily fall on record as analysts warned the global economy was teetering on the brink of a recession. The benchmark ASX200 index closed down 9.7 per cent as the coronavirus outbreak continued to roil global markets. The ASX200 has fallen roughly 30 per cent since its highest in February [...]
Our ability to overcome should never be in doubt March 16, 2020 We are being told to prepare for significant changes to our way of life. Within weeks, perhaps sooner, the government will require anyone over the age of 70 to stay in their homes. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, says that when the order comes it will last “for a very long time”, while Public Health [...]
City Moves for 16 March — Who’s switching jobs at Coretech Solutions, Liontrust and F&C Investment Trust? March 16, 2020 Today’s city Moves includes Coretech Solutions, Liontrust and F&C Investment Trust Coretech Solutions UK technology specialist Coretech Solutions has announced the appointment of Michael Green as non-executive director. He joins the business following 40 years’ experience in leadership roles across the retail and property sectors. Most recently, he was the first appointed chief executive of the [...]
Muppets with knives: Donald Trump and Christine Lagarde have turned the coronavirus crisis into an economic disaster March 16, 2020 “It is hard to soar with Eagles when you work with turkeys.” — Sam the American Eagle, Muppet. As everyone remotely connected with business and government knows, there is a great danger in advancing obviously overmatched people not up to the job. Promoting “muppets” (which, with apologies to Kermit the Frog, is the nickname we used [...]
You’re not the boss of me: Dissecting the aggressive trademark tactics of Hugo Boss March 16, 2020 One of the most critical assets of every company is its brand. In fact, it is so important that the brand value of a company can be greater than its stock market valuation. Since the late nineties, an increasing number of successful companies have been “brand-led” — the concept that the character of the company [...]
Disney’s streaming push is about more than subscriber numbers March 16, 2020 With Disney Plus launching in the UK — and in other European markets — debate rages as to whether we will see the rise of a “Netflix killer”, and which brand will emerge as the ultimate winner. Streaming services have been enjoying their moment in the sun. In the leading US market, subscriber rates for [...]
DEBATE: Is the EU’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence misguided? March 16, 2020 Is the EU’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence misguided? James Lawson, chief AI evangelist at DataRobot, says YES. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming society for the better. We’re using it to improve services and save lives. Applications range from fighting fraud to preventing forest fires and creating new medicines. The EU’s desire to be the [...]