Peter Harrison: UK business needs a £30bn equity injection July 10, 2020 The winning companies of tomorrow need help to survive today. This is how we, and the government, could help. The full economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis is now beginning to be felt as each day brings fresh news of job losses. It will get worse. £30 billion fund needed There is a chance to [...]
Rishi Sunak says he will deal with debt levels once picture clears July 9, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will seek to reduce the huge budget deficit amassed during the coronavirus pandemic once the trajectory of the economy is “clearer”. Sunak, who yesterday pledged another £30bn worth of stimulus to fight the downturn, said it was difficult to strike the right balance between protecting the economy and the [...]
Page Group profit halves amid coronavirus lockdown July 9, 2020 Page Group’s profit almost halved as countries around the world entered lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus, the recruiter said today. Gross profit sank 47.6 per cent overall, with the UK one of the worst performers, where income sank 61.5 per cent year-on-year in the three months to 30 June. France plunged 52 per [...]
Budget deficit to surge past £300bn after Sunak stimulus, says IFS July 8, 2020 The UK’s budget deficit is set to rise further past the unprecedented £300bn mark after chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £30bn spending package of VAT cuts and job support programmes, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has said. It said such a high pile of debt meant future statements from the chancellor “are likely to [...]
Business interruption is big unknown for insurers, says Bank of England July 8, 2020 The biggest uncertainty now facing insurers is whether they will have to pay for a raft of business interruption claims, the Bank of England has said, ahead of a court ruling on the matter this month. The court will decide whether existing policies should cover the big losses caused by the coronavirus crisis. Anna Sweeney, [...]
City reckons more ‘enormous’ stimulus to come from Rishi Sunak in autumn July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a package worth up to £30bn to boost the UK economy as the coronavirus lockdown is gradually eased, and promised it “will not be the last action”. At the centre of the stimulus is a “job retention bonus” worth up to £9bn that will pay companies to take back furloughed [...]
First Group says it may not survive as passenger numbers dive July 8, 2020 British bus and train operator First Group warned on Wednesday it might not survive as a going concern after a collapse in passenger numbers led to a £153m loss in the year to March, sending its shares down 15 per cent. But the company, which owns the US Greyhound network and school bus services in [...]
Economic recovery will be determined by public policy, says BoE’s Haldane July 7, 2020 The UK’s path to economic recovery will be determined by the course of public policy, the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane said today. “Our economic destiny lies not in the stars but to a significant extent in ourselves, in what policy course we choose,” Haldane said in an online webinar. “What is done [...]
To avert an unemployment crisis, the government must act now and equip workers for the post-pandemic world July 7, 2020 Tomorrow, the chancellor will rise to make his economic statement with the country teetering on the edge of the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression. Around 10 million people face the possibility of losing their jobs. Clearly not all of them will, but as the furlough scheme unwinds, half of businesses say they expect [...]
London’s City University scraps Cass name from business school over slavery links July 6, 2020 London’s City University has dropped the name of its Cass Business School over its 18th-century namesake’s links to the slave trade. The school, which frequently ranks in the world’s top MBA programmes, today said it will be renamed City’s Business School after a unanimous ruling from its shareholders found the name was “incompatible with City’s [...]