Government to subsidise wages of part-time workers in new scheme September 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak today announced a new “jobs support scheme” , which will see the government support the wages of people working part-time from November in a bid to stave off mass unemployment. The scheme, described by Sunak as a “radical intervention into the UK labour market”, will allow full-time workers to go back to work [...]
Smiths Group shares tumble as profit sinks by a quarter during pandemic September 24, 2020 Shares in Smiths Group sank as much as eight per cent this morning, as the industrials conglomerate reported a 26 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the year following a “disrupted” few months during the pandemic. The results Pre-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of July slumped 26 per cent to [...]
Rishi Sunak set to pump billions into economy to stave off unemployment September 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak will today unveil a multi-billion pound support package for ailing companies as he tries to stave off mass unemployment over winter. Sunak’s “winter economy plan” is expected to involve further VAT cuts, more emergency business loans and new wage subsidies for part-time workers to replace the furlough scheme. He will also announce that [...]
Trade experts raise fresh doubts over UK-US trade deal due to tax row September 24, 2020 Trade experts have expressed fresh doubts about the prospect of a UK-US trade deal while Britain’s digital services tax is in place. UK and US negotiators concluded the fourth round of formal negotiations this week as Downing Street tries to quickly close trade agreements as a part of its post-Brexit “Global Britain” agenda. Several trade [...]
Act now to prevent culture sector collapse, say MPs September 24, 2020 The government should take immediate action to protect the UK’s cultural and sporting sectors, the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee warned today. In a letter to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, lawmakers urged officials to use the pause created by the latest Covid-19 restrictions to implement a number of recommendations that would enable [...]
A quarter of hospitality firms could go bust by the end of the year without more government support September 23, 2020 New data from the pub industry released today showed that almost a quarter of hospitality businesses think they will go bust by the end of the year without new government support. Yesterday Boris Johnson unveiled sweeping new measures to curb a rise in coronavirus cases, including a 10pm curfew on all hospitality firms. The move, [...]
Fast food bosses urge Rishi Sunak to put in place new support schemes September 23, 2020 The bosses of some of the UK’s largest restaurants have tonight written to chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to provide more support for the sector after new coronavirus measures were put in place yesterday. In the letter, the chief executives of fast food giants such as Itsu, KFC and Pizza Hut, along with takeaway service [...]
Budget cancelled as Rishi Sunak prepares to unveil new business support package September 23, 2020 Rishi Sunak has cancelled his planned autumn Budget and will instead announce a new package of emergency support for UK businesses in a bid to stop mass unemployment. Sunak was supposed to unveil his second budget this year within the next few weeks, with the chancellor preparing the country for the next stage of its [...]
FTSE 100 surges after restrictions ‘not as tough’ as feared but US stocks mixed September 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped as it continued to recover from Monday’s rout, while US stocks were mixed as investors weighed up the chances of fresh stimulus. London’s blue-chip index was up 1.7 per cent at 5,926 points, edging it closer to the 6,000 threshold. The FTSE 250 was up 1.05 per cent. Read more: Coronavirus: [...]
Luke Johnson: 1m employees on furlough face redundancy September 23, 2020 Former Pizza Express boss Luke Johnson has warned that at least a million jobs could be lost in the hospitality industry as the government tightens restrictions. Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the restaurant mogul predicted that if the government cut all subsidies, “of the 3m [on furlough] at least a million, maybe more, will be made [...]