Johnson says UK will be ‘ruthless’ over quarantine as French cases spike August 13, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said said Downing Street is prepared to be “ruthless” with countries over quarantine rules, after he was asked whether France would be removed from the government’s safe-travel list. The UK has imposed a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from countries such as Spain and Belgium, as infections rates rise and fears mount [...]
New Look seeks turnover-based rent in second restructuring plan August 13, 2020 New Look has proposed another restructuring of its retail network, its second in three years, after coronavirus significantly impacted its finances. The fashion retailer has asked landlords to agree new turnover-based leases across its portfolio, having already closed stores and negotiated rent reductions as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) two years ago. “Out [...]
Staff at M&S sandwich supplier self-isolate after coronavirus outbreak August 13, 2020 Nearly 300 people have tested positive for coronavirus after an outbreak at a food plant in Northampton. A local council representative told the BBC that 297 people had tested positive, after Greencore in Northampton started “proactively testing” workers. Northampton is one of 29 regions in England to be put on a watchlist for a potential [...]
Bytedance weighs selling stake in Tiktok’s Indian arm to Reliance to ease app ban August 13, 2020 Tiktok parent Bytedance is said to be in talks with India’s Reliance about a investment in the operations of Tiktok in the region, as it seeks to end the government’s app ban. Conversations between the two companies began late last month but have yet to reach a deal, sources told Techcrunch. In June the Indian [...]
N26 in stand-off with staff as confidence in founders hits ‘all-time low’ August 13, 2020 Meetings between N26 staff to create a so-called works council are scheduled for today and tomorrow, despite the digital bank’s best efforts to stop employees organising with a legal injunction. The founders of N26 obtained an injunction against workers trying to establish a council earlier this week, after staff wrote in an open letter that [...]
UK house prices move out of negative territory for first time since March August 13, 2020 UK house prices gained momentum last month, moving out of negative territory for the first time since lockdown began as the government’s stamp duty holiday motivated buyers. However the bounce is not expected to last long, as government support schemes wind down in the winter. UK house prices firm up Across the UK in aggregate, [...]
London house prices fall despite market’s coronavirus recovery August 13, 2020 London house prices continued to fall in July, new data revealed today, despite an increase in demand from new buyers. Respondents to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Survey also do not expect this demand to continue, as wider government support measures begin to be phased out later in the year. Buyers [...]
Lyft maintains end-2021 profitability goal August 12, 2020 Lyft said today that cuts had put the company on track to reach its goal of becoming profitable on an adjusted basis by the end of 2021, even as its revenue fell 61 per cent. Quarterly revenue fell to $339.3m, as the pandemic crushed demand for ride-hailing services in North America. The ride-hailing app said [...]
London swelters in longest stretch of hot weather in almost 60 years August 12, 2020 Central London has now recorded its longest stretch of high temperatures since the 1960s, as the capital enters its sixth day of hot weather. Temperatures in London today surpassed 34 degrees for the sixth day in a row — the first time it has done that since 1961, the Met Office said. It comes as [...]
UK coronavirus death toll lowered after methodology change August 12, 2020 The official death toll from coronavirus in the UK was lowered by over 5,000 today after the government adopted a new way of counting fatalities. Concerns had been raised that the old method overstated the number of deaths, as it counted every death after someone had been diagnosed with coronavirus with no cut-off point. From [...]