Coronavirus: Government recruits 405,000 volunteer army March 25, 2020 More than 400,000 people have registered to join the government’s volunteer army in a bid to support frontline services grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Health secretary Matt Hancock yesterday announced that Downing Street was looking for 250,000 fit and healthy people sign up to join the new NHS Volunteer scheme. This afternoon Prime Minister Boris [...]
Cash-poor UK firms lobby for looser rules on stock offerings March 25, 2020 Advisers to cash-strapped British firms are lobbying regulators to loosen rules governing new stock offerings, in the hope it could make it easier for struggling companies to raise funds. An industry body representing investment banks is asking the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase the maximum allowed discount for equity sales on the London Stock [...]
UK coronavirus: Which retailers are open under lockdown rules? March 25, 2020 The government announced a UK coronavirus lockdown on Monday evening, putting limits on work, socialising and going outside. Addressing the nation, the prime minister said “I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home”. Boris Johnson said police will break up public gatherings of more than two people, [...]
Coronavirus: Barratt Developments scraps dividend March 25, 2020 Housebuilder Barratt Developments has scrapped its £100m payout to shareholders over the business uncertainty caused by coronavirus. Barratt, which has closed all of its sites, said it expects the coronavirus outbreak to have a “significant impact” on construction output and reservations and has cancelled all previous financial guidance. The company said that due to the [...]
UK coronavirus home testing kits to be made available ‘within days’ March 25, 2020 Coronavirus home testing kits will be made available in the UK within a matter of days, rather than weeks or months, according to health officials. Professor Sharon Peacock, director of the National Infection Service, told the science and technology committee that 3.5m tests had been bought and would be available “within days”. The coronavirus kits [...]
Storage space issues could force oil prices down to $10 March 25, 2020 Oil prices could hit $10 per barrel as storage facilities across the world run out of space amid a coronavirus-inspired price war, it is reported. Worldwide oil storage has reached three quarters of capacity, it was reported today, after Saudi Arabia flooded the market with cheap oil to hurt its rival, Russia. Canada, a key [...]
With every crisis comes an opportunity, so what should a post-coronavirus UK work towards? March 25, 2020 The world is in crisis. All over the world, governments and businesses – and most importantly people – are slowly adjusting to a world that seemed implausible only a few weeks ago. Yet here we are. And if there is any certainty now, it is that we are unlikely to emerge from this to return [...]
How coronavirus is turning the spotlight on sustainable investing March 25, 2020 | City Talk It is difficult to start any article without referring to the threat presented by the coronavirus sweeping across countries. The human impacts are clearly devastating for anyone affected, even if the overall impact is at present relatively small in the context of major pandemics through history. The economic and financial impacts are also proving significant. [...]
21-year-old woman reportedly dies from coronavirus in UK March 25, 2020 A 21-year-old woman is reportedly the youngest person with no pre-existing medical conditions to have died after contracting coronavirus in the UK. Chloe Middleton, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is believed to have died on 21 March. In a Facebook post her mother, Diane Middleton, said: “To all the people out there that thinks it’s just [...]
Electric cars can transport Britain to a greener future March 25, 2020 As the UK lockdown begins, now is a chance to pause, to take a step back, and consider how our world moves forward when the Covid-19 crisis is over. Right now, we are all staying at home, but when we can travel once again, what does the future of transportation look like? Britain is still [...]