Retailers get ready to reopen – but shoppers may be too scared to visit June 10, 2020 Shops across the country may be preparing to finally reopen their doors next week, but fears are growing that the British public will be too anxious to actually visit them after spending months under coronavirus lockdown. Those concerns have today been laid bare in a survey of more than 1,000 consumers, which suggested many people [...]
Coronavirus: UK economy set for ‘most severe downturn in modern times’ June 10, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has dragged the UK into the “most severe economic downturn in modern times” with the economy set to contract over seven per cent this year, new forecasts suggest. The UK economy is expected to shrink 7.2 per cent in 2020 and is unlikely to fully recover from the impact of Covid-19 until [...]
UK tourism group says air bridges will be set up by 29 June June 9, 2020 A tourism lobby group has said that air bridges to other countries will be operating by 29 June, saying it had received assurances on the matter by senior government officials. In a statement, Quash Quarantine, a 500-strong group of travel and hospitality firms, said that it was considering options including joining British Airways’ legal challenge [...]
Coronavirus business loan borrowing nears £35bn but CBILS approval rate languishes June 9, 2020 British businesses have borrowed almost £35bn under the government’s three emergency coronavirus credit programmes, but the approval rate for coronavirus business interruption loans (CBILS) remains just over 50 per cent. The bounce back loan scheme, which supports small businesses with 100 per cent state-backed loans, continued to see the strongest demand, according to new figures [...]
Number of workers on UK furlough scheme nears 9m June 9, 2020 Almost 9m workers in the UK have been furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic at a cost of £19.6bn, according to new figures from the Treasury. As of 7 June, 8.9m jobs were being supported by the government under its coronavirus job retention scheme, an increase of 200,000 on the week before. Businesses have now [...]
Retailers suffer ‘another month of struggle’ in May amid coronavirus lockdown June 9, 2020 Retailers endured a second consecutive monthly drop in sales in May, as the high street continued to suffer from the effects of the coronavirus lockdown. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales fell 5.9 per cent last month compared to May 2019. The monthly health check found record growth in online sales, as retailers continued [...]
UK coronavirus deaths near 52,000, tally of official data shows June 9, 2020 UK coronavirus deaths have broken past yet another milestone to hit 51,766, according to a tally of official sources put together by Reuters. Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales hit 45,748 up to 29 May, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Coupled with Northern Ireland data up to 29 May, and [...]
Q&A: Why do markets rise even when the outlook is bleak? June 9, 2020 | City Talk The global economy is on track for its worst recession in nearly 100 years, yet April was the market’s best monthly performance in three decades and the S&P 500 has just turned positive for 2020. Why? The first quarter of 2020 has been tough for the global economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [...]
Coronavirus: Cabinet ministers ‘push to cut two metre social distancing rule’ June 9, 2020 A majority of Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers are said to be putting pressure on Downing Street to relax the two-metre social distancing rule to contain coronavirus. The Prime Minister, who will chair a cabinet meeting today, is thought to be sympathetic to calls to dispense with the two-metre rule, amid a clamour from the hospitality [...]
London reports no new coronavirus deaths since early days of pandemic June 9, 2020 London reported no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since the start of the pandemic yesterday, NHS England statistics show. The capital reported no new deaths in a 24-hour period until 5pm on Sunday. The city did see “a small number of people” die from Covid-19 over the weekend, but their deaths have not [...]