The coronavirus crisis calls for a two-week stock market trading holiday March 17, 2020 Last week was marked by a series of trading halts as stock markets swung from “limit down” to “limit up,” and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst single-day loss since Black Monday in 1987. Uncertainty abounds, but one thing is for sure — no one knows what is going to happen next. It’s [...]
Pub industry warns Boris Johnson that lockdown measures put ‘hundreds and thousands of jobs’ at risk March 16, 2020 The UK pub industry has tonight written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning him that the government’s guidance that members of the public should avoid going to bars and pubs presents the sector with an “existential crisis”. In a letter from British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin, the industry warned that “thousands [...]
Coronavirus: UK death toll rises to 55 after Johnson implements new measures March 16, 2020 The total number of people to die of coronavirus in the UK has now risen to 55, health secretary Matt Hancock announced this afternoon. That means the death toll has risen by 21 in the past 24 hours, the largest rise yet recorded in a single day. Earlier today the Department of Health said that [...]
Coronavirus: Supermarkets mull streamlining stores to cope with spike in demand March 16, 2020 The biggest supermarkets in the UK are mulling cutting cafe, counters and other services to focus on maintaining basic provisions as the demand for essential items and hygiene products soars during the coronavirus outbreak. Bosses are stepping up their contingency plans to keep stores running if staff take sick leave or if a potential mass [...]
European Commission proposes 30-day travel ban on people entering EU March 16, 2020 European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a 30-day ban on incoming foreign travel to the European Union as leaders battle to limit the spread of the coronavirous outbreak. Von der Leyen said: “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore, I propose to the heads of state and government [...]
Sadiq Khan to attend coronavirus Cobra meeting March 16, 2020 Sadiq Khan will attend today’s coronavirus Cobra meeting at Downing Street, after being shut out of earlier talks. City Hall confirmed today that Khan will be at the meeting, which will see Boris Johnson and the UK’s health chiefs discuss stricter measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. The first ministers of Scotland, Wales and [...]
EU watchdog tightens short-selling rules as coronavirus sell off worsens March 16, 2020 Hedge funds and other investors will have to give regulators more information about the stocks they are betting against, the European Union’s market watchdog has announced, warning that the stock market rout triggered by coronavirus could last weeks. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) lowered the threshold for reporting short-selling — essentially a bet [...]
Coronavirus: Sunak to head new economic and business response committee March 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked his chancellor Rishi Sunak to head up a new committee specifically dealing with the economic fall-out of the coronavirus. The economic and business response committee will consider the impact of Covid-19 as it continues to spread throughout the world, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed this morning. Business secretary [...]
FTSE 100 plunges despite Fed’s coronavirus ‘bazooka’ March 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 has plunged despite the US Federal Reserve slashing interest rates to near zero in an emergency move to curb the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The blue-chip index was last down seven per cent as traders reckoned with the ongoing spread of coronavirus and shrugged off the Fed’s surprise intervention. Airlines and [...]
H&M closes hundreds of stores as Europe battles coronavirus spread March 16, 2020 H&M’s share price dropped this morning after it announced it has shuttered hundreds stores across Europe as coronavirus continues to spread across the continent. The Swedish retailer’s share price fell more than 11 per cent this morning as it warned that sales had been affected this month due to the outbreak. The group has temporarily [...]