Barclays boss: Government prepared to go ‘well beyond’ £330bn in business support April 29, 2020 Barclays boss Jes Staley has said that the government is prepared to go “well beyond” its initial £330bn coronavirus business rescue package, labelling its efforts so far “an extraordinary tsunami”. Speaking to analysts this morning, Staley said: ‘£330bn was a first indicative number, but I think it’s pretty clear that they are willing to go [...]
Spotify grows user numbers as Covid-19 hits advertising revenue April 29, 2020 Spotify today reported a sharp rise in user numbers for the first quarter as coronavirus lockdown measures sparked a huge shift in listening habits around the globe. The streaming service posted a 31 per cent year on year growth in monthly active users to 286m. The figures, which were in line with expectations, marked the [...]
A new economic era beckons after this crisis April 29, 2020 | City Talk Current events likely mark a turning point in economic policy and the end of a 40-year spell of free market capitalism. Nobody can know how long the Covid-19 crisis will last, but I think that regardless of this it will mark a profound long-term change in economic policy. It is likely a turning point in [...]
Coronavirus: Will rescue package make tax hikes inevitable? April 29, 2020 In the past six weeks the Chancellor has, quite rightly, announced a far-reaching package of measures to support the economy through the Covid-19 crisis that could cost up to £100bn. He may yet need to do more. Tax revenues will also be much lower than expected due to the hit to economic activity from the [...]
Housebuilder Persimmon confident in outlook as construction sites reopen April 29, 2020 Housebuilder Persimmon said customer enquiries have remained at good levels throughout the UK coronavirus lockdown so far as the developer pushes ahead with the phased reopening of its construction sites. The company said steady customer enquiries provided “some encouragement on the resilience of demand” during the coronavirus crisis. Persimmon’s current forward sales position is “robust” [...]
WPP revenue slumps as clients slash marketing budgets during Covid-19 crisis April 29, 2020 WPP today posted a sharp drop in revenue in March as clients across the globe slashed marketing budgets due to the coronavirus crisis. The advertising giant reported a 7.9 per cent fall in like-for-like revenue last month, while revenue slipped 3.3 per cent in the first quarter as a whole. The Covid-19 crisis has taken [...]
Dixons Carphone scraps dividend but reports strong online trading during coronavirus lockdown April 29, 2020 Dixons Carphone will not pay a dividend to shareholders this year due to the coronavirus crisis, the company said this morning as it reported strong online trading during the lockdown. The retailer said its closed stores in the UK, Ireland and Greece would have been expected to contribute an extra £400m this year. However, online [...]
Martin Gilbert: Coronavirus ‘multiple times worse’ than Black Monday for City April 29, 2020 Veteran asset manager Martin Gilbert has warned the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will be “the most dramatic we’ve seen since the 1930s” as he warned of “a long, slow recovery” for certain sectors of the economy. Speaking to The City View podcast today, Gilbert said that though Black Monday in 1987 was a [...]
The City View podcast, from City A.M., with Martin Gilbert April 28, 2020 In this episode Christian talks to City veteran Martin Gilbert on the eve of his departure from Standard Life Aberdeen, the £550bn investment management giant. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Martin founded Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983 and became co-CEO of SLA after a 2017 merger with Standard [...]
British Airways says it could cut 12,000 jobs as global travel slumps April 28, 2020 International Airlines Group (IAG) today said a redundancy consultation at British Airways could lead to 12,000 people losing their jobs. IAG said British Airways is formally notifying its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme. “The proposals remain subject to consultation but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways’ [...]