What role will cash play in the post-Covid recession? August 19, 2020 With the UK plunging into what the chancellor has called an “unprecedented” recession, what can we learn from the downturn in 2008 about the role of cash and its importance to people and businesses under economic pressure? Cash underpinned the economy and consumer spending habits after the 2008 recession. Will 2020 be significantly different? I’d [...]
The City View: Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce on how to support an economic recovery August 19, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In this episode Christian talks to Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, about the state of the economy and the prospects for a recovery. Adam believes that when government support schemes are withdrawn they must be replaced by more targeted schemes and that businesses must be [...]
Ireland to tighten coronavirus rules after spike in cases August 18, 2020 Ireland will “significantly” tighten Covid-19 rules following a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases over the past two weeks. It comes after the country’s health minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed there had been 190 new cases today. Ireland previously held one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, but its 14-day rolling average has risen from four [...]
UK records 1,089 new positive coronavirus cases August 18, 2020 The UK recorded 1,089 new positive cases of coronavirus today, up from 713 yesterday, government figures showed. A further 12 people died after testing positive for covid-19 within 28 days. The UK has recorded more than 1,000 daily cases on eight out of the last 10 days. Earlier health minister Matt Hancock welcomed figures from [...]
Marks & Spencer to axe 7,000 jobs within three months amid pandemic August 18, 2020 Marks & Spencer is set to slash 7,000 jobs by December in a huge restructuring brought about by the pandemic, it said today. The high street giant, which was struggling prior to coronavirus, will focus the cuts in its central support centre, regional management and UK stores. It comes on top of 950 job cuts [...]
The UK must close its digital skills gap — or face an unemployment crisis August 18, 2020 With the economy plunging a catastrophic 20 per cent between April and June, the magnitude of challenges facing UK industries is becoming clearer. A wave of unemployment is likely, and when the furlough scheme officially ends there is no knowing how many people employers will let go. Even with additional taxpayer bailouts, there are large [...]
UK needs 10m tests a week, says Premier League’s coronavirus adviser August 17, 2020 The company behind the Premier League’s coronavirus testing efforts has backed calls for the government to introduce a UK-wide testing scheme by the end of the year. Avi Lasarow, chief executive of testing firm Prenetics, has called on the government to swap its half-price restaurant scheme for a universal testing service across the UK. He [...]
Coronavirus: Cineworld in legal battle over unpaid lockdown rent August 17, 2020 Cineworld is said to be facing a legal challenge from one of its landlords after the cinema chain failed to pay rent during the coronavirus lockdown. The London-listed cinema group is understood to be withholding rent from property giant AEW after it was hit by closures due to the Covid-19 crisis. AEW has now filed [...]
Market shock: how did investors react to the impact of Covid-19? August 17, 2020 | City Talk Coronavirus brought a decade-long US bull market to an end and sparked a sudden stock market collapse. A surprising proportion of investors responded by taking on more risk. Faced by of one of the biggest economic shocks in history it is little surprise that the vast majority of investors reacted by changing their portfolios. What [...]
Japan’s economy shrinks at record pace as coronavirus wipes out ‘Abenomics’ gains August 17, 2020 Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed consumption and exports, keeping policymakers under pressure for bolder action to prevent a deeper recession. The third straight quarter of declines knocked the size of real gross domestic product (GDP) to decade-low levels, wiping out the [...]