EU leaders agree additional €500bn coronavirus package April 10, 2020 Late last night EU governments have agreed an additional €500bn (£438.6bn) package to support their coronavirus-ravaged economies in a bid to stave off a steep recession. The deal was forced through by the bloc’s economic heavyweights France and Germany, which overcame opposition from the Netherlands regarding attaching economic conditions to emergency credit to be given [...]
Foreign Office to bring 3,000 stranded UK nationals back from India April 10, 2020 The Foreign Office has chartered 12 more flights to bring around 3,000 UK nationals back from India as repatriation efforts continue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The new flights come in addition to seven that have already been set up, meaning a total number of 5,000 UK citizens will be brought home from [...]
Former business secretary Greg Clark leads calls for overhaul of coronavirus loan scheme April 9, 2020 Former business secretary Greg Clark MP today branded the government’s coronavirus loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses a “disappointment” and called for an overhaul of the programme. “It hasn’t been taken up as widely as was touted when it was first launched. Since it was there to provide finance for businesses in substantial quantities [...]
Dominic Raab: Still ‘too early’ to lift lockdown restrictions April 9, 2020 The government has said that it is still too early to lift lockdown restrictions across the UK, urging people again not to travel over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson while the prime minister remains in intensive care, said that although the early signs were that [...]
Cross-sector expert group offers free mentoring for businesses facing coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 Experts across all sectors, including retail, hospitality and tech, have teamed up to provide mentoring for company founders and chief executives affected by the outbreak of coronavirus. The All Together scheme includes Martin Williams, the chief executive of Gaucho and M Restaurant brands, Innocent Drinks co-founder Jon Wright and ex-Flying Tiger chief executive Xavier Vidal. [...]
England coronavirus deaths rise by 765 as global cases pass 1.5m April 9, 2020 Coronavirus deaths in England have jumped by another 765 to hit a total of 7,248, new NHS figures released today show, as global cases topped 1.5m. Global coronavirus cases passed 1.5m this afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The NHS England figures confirmed 140 English deaths actually happened yesterday. And it represents a drop [...]
London O2 arena to become NHS training ground for staff fighting coronavirus April 9, 2020 AEG has made London’s O2 Arena available to the NHS for the training of additional staff required at the new Nightingale hospital in the Excel centre. The venue’s owner has handed the concert venue over to the NHS until the end of June in order to assist with the growing number of staff required to [...]
Coronavirus: Virgin Australia to ground all but one domestic flight and seeks state aid April 9, 2020 Embattled Virgin Australia has said it will ground all domestic flights except a single daily trip from Sydney to Melbourne due to coronavirus, and is seeking AU$1.4bn (£707m) in government aid. The severely reduced programme will run through to 15 June at the earliest. It is understood that Virgin is seeking the cash in the [...]
Coronavirus: Half of major UK retailers ‘could run out of cash’ as sales dive April 9, 2020 More than half of the UK’s major non-food retailers will run out of cash if the government’s coronavirus lockdown continues into the summer, as research found that sales have plunged 70 per cent. A new report by restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and Retail Economics found that the UK’s biggest retailers will deplete their [...]
US jobless claims hit 6.6m as coronavirus slams economy April 9, 2020 US jobless claims hit 6.6m last week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which has wreaked economic chaos. The data from the Department of Labor showed 6.6m Americans claimed unemployment benefits for the first time last week. Last week the Department of Labor said 6.6m had claimed for unemployment benefits for the first time, [...]
