Coronavirus: UK economy shrinks two per cent in first quarter of 2020 May 13, 2020 The UK economy shrank by two per cent in the first three months of 2020 due to the impact of coronavirus, official GDP data showed today. The slump showed the UK economy’s contracted at its fastest rate since the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The lockdown, which started on 23 March, saw the [...]
The City View, from Morning Wire, with Johnny Hornby May 13, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Johnny Hornby, one of the most influential men in advertising – chairman and CEO of The&Partnership, the largest independent ad agency in Europe. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Johnny sets out why he believes companies must continue to advertise and [...]
Coronavirus: A third of small firms fear collapse amid redundancy plans May 13, 2020 A third of small firms are considering redundancies while thousands fear they will never reopen as the Covid-19 crisis devastates the UK economy. Roughly 40 per cent of small businesses have been forced to close their doors since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in March. Of those that have closed, more than a third [...]
Boost for broadcasters as filming resumes on film and TV productions May 12, 2020 Filming on UK film and TV productions will be allowed to resume from this week as long as social distancing guidelines are observed, the government has confirmed. Firms had been forced to halt work on productions across the UK after the country was plunged into lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19. But the sector [...]
UK banks lend £15bn through coronavirus loan schemes May 12, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak today said the UK banking and finance industry has provided almost £15bn to almost 304,000 businesses through three government-backed coronavirus loan schemes. In the week since the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) launched, £8.4bn has been approved to 268,173 businesses – an average of 38,000 loans a day. Lenders have provided [...]
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 627 May 12, 2020 The UK’s official death toll has hit 32,692 after a further 627 deaths were recorded, though new analysis showed the true figure may be much higher. The latest numbers mark a sharp increase from yesterday, when 210 new deaths were reported. However, this is likely to be caused by a lag in reporting over the [...]
Lloyds says it has provided £4bn support to businesses during coronavirus crisis May 12, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group today said it has provided more than £4bn support to businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Britain’s major banks were heavily criticised for slow lending, bureaucracy and offering disadvantageous terms to customers following the coronavirus lockdown. Lloyds today said it accounted for approximately 28 per cent of lending under the government bounce back [...]
Furlough: When will the job retention scheme end? May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s job retention scheme has won wide plaudits for helping workers stay employed via furlough during the coronavirus crisis. Furlough has been one of the fundamental pillars in the chancellor’s economic response to the crisis and it has effectively amounted to temporary state socialism. The historic policy has seen the government – a [...]
Wuhan to test entire 11m population after fresh coronavirus outbreak May 12, 2020 The Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero in the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, is planning a citywide testing drive over the next 10 days after a fresh outbreak. According to a document seen by Reuters every district of the city has been told to submit a detailed testing plan by today. The city of 11m people [...]
Coronavirus: Contact-tracing app to launch in mid-May May 12, 2020 The coronavirus contact-tracing app will be rolled out across England in mid-May, health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed today. The NHS app, which authorities hope will help to track the spread of the virus, was launched on a trial basis on the Isle of Wight last week. Hancock today said the government was “pleased” with progress [...]