Coronavirus: Supermarkets call for competition laws to be waived March 9, 2020 The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are expected to warn the government that the outbreak of coronavirus could require competition law to be paused to allow them to collaborate. During a phone call with environment secretary George Eustice at least one of the big four grocers will reportedly call for the suspension of the [...]
Coronavirus: Milan among cities quarantined in mass Italian lockdown March 9, 2020 Italy took the extraordinary step yesterday of quarantining 16m people in one of the country’s most prosperous regions as it ramped up its battle to halt the spread of Coronavirus. All 10m people from the region of Lombardy, including Italy’s financial capital Milan, have been placed into lockdown until 3 April, along with cities including Venice, Padua, Modena, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and [...]
London broadband firm G Network eyes bumper funding boost March 8, 2020 London full-fibre broadband firm G Network is said to be seeking a huge funding boost as network providers race to roll out superfast internet connections across the UK. G Network, which targets affluent central London postcodes including Mayfair, Marylebone and Chelsea, has reportedly hired bankers from Rothschild to locate new funds over the coming months. [...]
Treasury to move a fifth of staff to northern ‘economic campus’, says Rishi Sunak March 8, 2020 The Treasury will move one-fifth of its entire staff to the North of England as a part of the government’s plans to “level up” parts of the country. Chancellor Rishi Sunak made the announcement this morning, after ongoing speculation there would a decentralisation of power away from Whitehall and to the regions. Sunak also announced [...]
Coronavirus: Government prepared to give NHS ‘whatever it needs’ March 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the Treasury is prepared to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to combat the spread of coronavirus. Speaking just days before his first budget, Sunak gave his assurances that the government were prepared to spend as much money as necessary to stop the virus spreading further. It comes after concerns [...]
Neil Woodford in talks with investors as he plots comeback March 7, 2020 Neil Woodford and a number of colleagues from Woodford Investment Management (WIM) are in talks with investors about snapping up a number of the fallen fund manager’s old investments. Woodford has held talks with institutional and wealth managers in recent weeks about creating a vehicle to buy back some of the unquoted WIM stakes, according [...]
Coronavirus live: Second Brit ‘dies from Covid-19’ as UK cases number 163 March 6, 2020 UK coronavirus cases have hit 163, the government confirmed today, as reports emerged of a second Brit who has died from Covid-19. London’s total number of cases has climbed to 29, up four from yesterday’s 25. England has 147 cases overall, with 13 in the north east and Yokshire, 21 in the north west. There [...]
BT ‘to slash executive pensions’ in pay shake up March 6, 2020 BT is reportedly set to cut its top executives’ pension allowances and link their bonuses to sustainability targets, as part of an executive pay shakeup by the telecoms giant. BT has started the latest phase of a shareholder consultation including a proposal to slash chief executive Philip Jansen’s maximum remuneration package from £8.3m to £5.6m, [...]
UK house prices: Brexit clouds lift, but coronavirus threat looms March 6, 2020 UK house prices rose 2.8 per cent in February compared to the same month last year, Halifax data showed today. Homes’ values increased 0.3 per cent month on month and 2.9 per cent on a quarterly basis, Halifax’s House Price Index found. That left the average UK house price at £240,677 in February. But while [...]
Virgin Media data breach hits 900,000 customers March 6, 2020 Virgin Media last night admitted that a data breach had seen the personal details of around 900,000 people left unsecured and accessible online for 10 months. The company said that it had not been hacked, but that the breach had been caused because the database was incorrectly configured. It stressed that the database did not [...]