UK economy: Britain braced for GDP and jobs hit August 10, 2020 The full extent of the Covid-19 crisis on the UK economy is set to be laid bare this week with the release of two key reports. While economists have been at odds over the speed of the country’s recovery from the pandemic, this week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are likely to [...]
Rishi Sunak faces pressure to extend furlough scheme August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure to extend the furlough scheme in some form, amid fears of a wave of unemployment later in the year. Opposition political parties and business groups are increasingly worried that plans to wind down the furlough scheme in October are premature. The Bank of England yesterday said 2.5m people [...]
France could be next to join UK quarantine list as Sunak warns of travel ‘disruption’ August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned there is “always a risk of disruption to travel plans” as speculation that France could be added to the quarantine list grows. The number of Covid-19 infections in France has increased by more than 1,600 for a second consecutive day, returning to levels not seen since May. It comes just [...]
Rishi Sunak: ‘Hardship lies ahead’ for the UK economy August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that “hardship lies ahead” for the UK economy despite the Bank of England improving its forecast for this year. Yesterday the Bank upgraded its projection for the path of GDP in 2020, saying it would now contract 9.5 per cent rather than the 14 per cent it had previously pencilled [...]
July retail sales dampen hopes of quick high street recovery August 7, 2020 Retail sales continued to fall in July despite the reopening of non-essential stores, dampening hopes of a quick bounce back on the high street. Like-for-like sales in bricks and mortar stores fell 39.4 per cent in July compared to growth of 0.1 per cent in the same month last year. Last month was also the [...]
Furlough schemes are failing to save UK businesses, body warns August 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s bumper spending plan to save British jobs has failed to help companies avoid an unemployment crunch as furlough support ends, businesses have warned. More than half of UK businesses surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said their cashflow had fallen in June, while 42 per cent also said sales had [...]
Easyjet chief: We will keep flying to quarantined countries if there is demand August 4, 2020 Easyjet’s chief executive Johan Lundgren has said that the airline will not stop flying to destinations if the government chooses to reimpose quarantine restrictions on them while demand to travel to them remains. Speaking to City A.M., he said: “People, as we have seen with Portugal for example, are willing to take the sacrifice of [...]
‘More than three-quarters’ of UK hospitality firms could go bust within a year August 4, 2020 More than three-quarters of UK hospitality businesses are at risk of insolvency within 12 months, the leading British trade body announced today, as social distancing measures and local lockdowns continue to weigh on the sector. A new survey by UK Hospitality showed that one in five hospitality businesses are at significant risk of insolvency within [...]
Business travel firms call for government help to avoid 10,000 job cuts August 3, 2020 The UK’s business travel sector has called on the government to provide it with an emergency rescue package to help prevent up to 10,000 jobs being lost this year. The chief executive of industry body the Business Travel Association (BTA) has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak, transport secretary Grant Shapps and business secretary Alok Sharma [...]
Pubs may have to shut to keep schools open, hints Number 10 August 3, 2020 Pubs may have to close in order to meet the government’s promise to reopen schools in September, Downing Street hinted today. The government is “planning for all people to return to school from the beginning of the autumn term”, and this may require venues to temporarily close in order to contain local outbreaks, said the [...]