Taxpayers to bear brunt as lenders hike interest rates on emergency loans November 1, 2020 Taxpayers are bearing the brunt of hefty interest rates and arrangement fees charged by lenders providing emergency loans for struggling businesses. The Sunday Times reported that some specialist lenders are charging fees as high as five per cent of the whole loan, and in some cases charging interest rates as high as 15 per cent. [...]
London lockdown: What the Government’s new rules mean for you November 1, 2020 There are differences between the first UK-wide lockdown of the Spring and what will come into effect from Thursday, so what do new restrictions mean for Londoners?
New £1.8bn TfL bailout agreed at the eleventh hour November 1, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) will receive £1.8bn in government support to see it through until March after a second bailout deal was finally agreed last night. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the capital’s transport network has seen revenue dry up amid the collapse in passenger numbers. In March TfL received £1.6bn in the [...]
Business groups welcome furlough extension as ‘survival mode’ kicks in November 1, 2020 Business groups have welcomed the extension of the furlough scheme, but warned that the new lockdown means that firms will be back in “survival mode”. Last night PM Boris Johnson announced a month-long lockdown is to begin on Thursday and last until 2 December. With just hours to go before the furlough scheme was set [...]
Coronavirus: England set for national lockdown, PM says October 31, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson tonight ordered England back into a national lockdown
Covid-19 now spreading faster than worst case scenario, Sage warns October 30, 2020 Covid-19 is now spreading “significantly” faster across England than the government’s worst-case scenario, top scientists have warned. Newly published documents from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) warned the rapid spread of the virus meant the number of deaths this winter could surpass the 85,000 previously forecast. The document, which is dated 14 October, [...]
Tech stocks drag down Wall Street as FTSE 100 suffers worst month since March October 30, 2020 Sliding tech stocks dragged down Wall Street this afternoon, while the FTSE rounded off its worst monthly fall since March amid a wave of new coronavirus lockdowns. The three main US indexes were on course for their worst week since March as ongoing pandemic-related uncertainty and the looming presidential election sparked market volatility. Read more: [...]
US breaks daily record for coronavirus cases as total infections hit nine million October 30, 2020 The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus infections yesterday, with the country reporting over 91,000 new cases. Thursday’s surge in cases, which comes less than a week before the US election, also hospitalisations hit new highs in many states, according to a tally by Reuters. The previous one-day record for US cases [...]
Twice as many young people want permanent flexible working post-Covid October 30, 2020 The rapid acceleration of home working caused by the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a generational divide in how employees would prefer to work post-Covid, a new survey suggests. Twice as many under-35s want permanent flexible working options post-pandemic compared to over-55s, according to new research by Deloitte. Some 64 per cent of under-35s said they [...]
Premier League testing firm snaps up Oxford University Covid-19 test business October 30, 2020 The company behind the Premier League and Heathrow testing programmes has acquired a rapid Covid-19 testing business spun out of Oxford University. Biotech firm Prenetics today said it has acquired exclusive global rights to Oxsed, which has developed a low-cost coronavirus test that delivers results in 15 to 30 minutes. The companies are now targeting [...]