Covid-19: Govt to pay sick leave from first day of illness March 4, 2020 Boris Johnson has announced that statutory sick pay will be paid from the first day workers take off in an attempt to encourage people to stay away from work if they are unwell. The decision, which was revealed at Prime Minister’s Questions today, means that workers will no longer have to wait four days before [...]
Lego builds sales with Star Wars and Harry Potter kits March 4, 2020 Lego built sales growth last year, defying the shrinking toy market, as shoppers snapped up Star Wars and Harry Potter themed kits. Revenue jumped six per cent last year to 38.5bn Danish krone (£4.48bn), up from three per cent the previous year, putting it ahead of Barbie owner Mattel and Hasbro, the maker of My Little [...]
US senators urge MPs to rethink Huawei 5G decision March 4, 2020 A group of senior US senators has written to MPs urging them to rethink the UK’s decision to allow Huawei to help build its 5G networks. Twenty senators, including both Democrats and Republicans, expressed “significant” concern with the decision, citing “significant security, privacy and economic threats”. In January the government gave Huawei the green light [...]
UK coronavirus: Brits don face masks (and Tesco bags) on public transport March 4, 2020 British commuters are taking the UK coronavirus threat seriously, it appears, donning heavy duty face masks – and Tesco bags – on Tube trains and buses. A man on a London Underground train appeared to decide to keep himself safe on his commute to work by donning a serious-looking gas mask, along with thick rubber [...]
Exclusive: Cummings blocks former MP Masterton’s appointment as Scottish adviser to government March 4, 2020 Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings has blocked the appointment of former MP Paul Masterton as a Scotland-based special adviser. Masterton was the MP for East Renfrewshire for two years, but lost his seat in December after it swung back to SNP’s Kirsten Oswald. He was tipped as making a return to the government as [...]
Property fund outflows slow as investors seek safe havens March 4, 2020 Property funds had their best performance since September 2018 as net outflows decreased to just £18m last month, down from £80m in January. In the final week of February, when global markets slumped as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, investors bought a net £24.6m of real estate funds according to Calastone’s Fund Flows Index. [...]
Opec mulls further cuts of up to 1m barrels as coronavirus weighs on oil prices March 4, 2020 Oil prices tiptoed up today as oil producer group Opec was considering additional cuts of up to 1m barrels in an attempt to stabilise prices, which have taken a battering from the coronavirus outbreak. If cuts of this size are enacted, it will take total output curbs of over 3.1m barrels per day, equivalent to [...]
Lloyd’s of London has emergency coronavirus plan in case building locked down March 4, 2020 Lloyd’s of London has “emergency trading protocols” to ensure business continuity if access to its building is restricted due to the coronavirus epidemic. The 330 year-old insurance market will encourage electronic placing, it said in a market notice dated yesterday. Lloyd’s is one of the last bastions of face-to-face trading in the City, with insurance [...]
Coronavirus: Retailers battle supply chain issues as consumers stockpile March 4, 2020 UK retailers are battling against supply chain issues as consumers rush to stockpile due to the outbreak of coronavirus. More than a third of UK households are worried about product shortages due to coronavirus, and one in 10 shoppers have started to stockpile. Almost a quarter of retailers also said that supply chain disruption is [...]
Watchdog bans face mask ads over coronavirus ‘scaremongering’ March 4, 2020 The advertising watchdog has launched a crackdown against two face mask manufacturers for using “scaremongering” to promote their products amid the coronavirus outbreak. Novads OU advertised its Oxybreath Pro mask on the Scottish Sun website, while Easy Shopping 4 Home used Amazon to promote its disposable face mask. The Oxybreath advert, which was littered with [...]
