Market Buzz
Friday newspaper round-up: Amazon, second lockdown, Grant Thornton
The government will close the furlough scheme this weekend, with redundancies rising at the fastest rate on record and the second wave of Covid-19 pushing Britain’s economy to the brink of a double-dip recession, according to a Guardian analysis. As the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, prepares to end the multibillion-pound coronavirus job retention scheme and launch a less generous replacement programme, early warning indicators show business activity faltering as local lockdowns take effect.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Advertisers, pubs, Asda, Rolls-Royce
Advertisers are cutting more than £700m from their marketing budgets in the run-up to Christmas, as the pandemic puts paid to the big budget extravaganzas that normally bombard the public over the festive season. While the annual Christmas advertising battle will be as fiercely fought as ever, with a total of £6. 2bn spent across the fourth quarter, consumers are unlikely to see glitzy tie-ups such as Mariah Carey’s reportedly £9m deal to promote Walkers festive-themed crisps last year.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Young workers, Aston Martin, self-employed
The head of the UK’s leading employers’ organisation has stepped up pressure on the government to conclude trade talks with the EU so that the country can move on from the “suspended animation” of the past four years. Reflecting on her five years as director general of the CBI, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said her biggest regret was that the issue had not been resolved earlier and warned ministers that businesses grappling with Covid-19 were unprepared for a hard Brexit.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Young workers, IWG, business leaders
Young people in the UK are more than twice as likely to lose their jobs compared with older workers, according to a study that documents the growing divisions in the workplace since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March. In the past two months, the proportion of people to lose their job aged 16 to 25 was 11. 1%, compared with 4. 6% for those aged 26 and over, academics at the London School of Economics found. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Aerospace industry, TalkTalk, Debenhams
The global aerospace industry has endured its worst quarter ever with record low orders for new aircraft and 12,000 UK jobs already lost or at risk because of the collapse in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Aircraft manufacturers received only 13 orders in July and August, according to the aerospace and defence lobby group ADS. No orders were placed in September. That compares with 152 in the same period in 2019. - Guardian.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Coronavirus vaccine, UK-US trade, Shell
Plans are being drawn up for frontline NHS staff to receive a coronavirus vaccine within weeks, as the Government moves to accelerate the timetable for a mass roll-out. An email sent by an NHS Trust chief to his staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals the Health Service is preparing for a national vaccination programme before Christmas. - Mail on Sunday.
Friday newspaper round-up: Driverless cars, NS&I, household wealth
Plans for cars to drive themselves on UK motorways as soon as 2021 are unlikely to go ahead after insurers warned government proposals were risking lives and “hugely wrong”. Cars with the technology to keep in lane, accelerate and brake automatically will be on the road next year, and ministers had proposed that drivers could relinquish control to their vehicles at speeds of up to 70mph on motorways. - Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Covid support package, wealth divide, Tesla, Asda
Rishi Sunak is expected to announce his fourth package of support for business in as many months amid mounting pressure on the government to help hard-hit companies in lockdown-affected regions. Trades unions and the UK’s five big employers’ organisations have been summoned to the Treasury on Thursday morning to hear details of the chancellor’s plans before he makes a statement to MPs. - Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Royal Mail, Poundstretcher, UK airports
Royal Mail postal workers will for the first time collect parcels on the doorstep, in one of the biggest changes to the service as it adapts to the decline in letters and rapid growth in online shopping. From Wednesday customers across the UK will be able to pay a fee of 72p on top of standard postage costs for every package under the new “parcel collect” service. Pre-paid return items will cost 60p per item. - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: ITV, PPE, working lunches
Mervyn King, the Bank of England governor during the financial crisis, has told the government now is not the time to worry about record levels of national debt and that the furlough scheme could be needed throughout 2021. In a warning to ministers that additional support for Britain’s coronavirus-hit economy will be necessary over the winter while tough new local lockdowns are in place, Lord King said the government needed to step in to prevent lasting damage for jobs and growth.
Monday newspaper round-up: China growth, BT, Autumn Budget
The Chinese economy grew 4. 9% between July and September, according to government data, as China becomes the first major economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The year-on-year expansion, while slightly lower than analyst expectations, represents a dramatic reversal from the first quarter of this year when the economy shrunk by 6. 8%, China’s first contraction since 1992 when officials began keeping quarterly GDP data. - Guardian.
Sunday newspaper round-up: British Airways, G4S, TalkTalk
British Airways is planning to shrink its presence at London Gatwick Airport as part of a "bounce-back" effort in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. BA, which warned it could abandon Britain's second biggest airport in April, is already operating most of its short-haul flights from Heathrow and has said it will be doing so until next March. - Sunday Telegraph.
Friday newspaper round-up: Tier 2, John Lewis, mortgage defaults
New lockdown restrictions to be imposed across much of England from Saturday could be the “death knell” for many pubs and restaurants, the government has been told, as business groups voiced concerns about a wave of job losses within weeks. London, Essex, York and parts of Derbyshire are among the regions that will be subject to tier 2 curbs, meaning people from multiple households will not be allowed to mix in venues such as pubs, restaurants and bars. - Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Cashback, Ocado, EG Group
Shops will offer cashback without consumers needing to make a purchase, under Treasury proposals to protect people’s access to cash. In 2019 consumers received £3. 8bn in cash when paying for items at a till, making it the second most popular way of withdrawing money behind ATMs. - Guardian .
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Odeon, HS2, Metro Bank
The parent company of Odeon has warned that the lack of new blockbusters fuelling record low movie-going could mean it will run out of cash as soon as the end of the year. Shares in US-listed AMC Theatres, the world’s largest operator of cinemas, plunged 12% in early trading as rattled investors reacted to a warning that it will need to raise a significant amount of cash to keep operating if the dire conditions persist. - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Amazon Prime, OECD, taxes
Campaign groups and small business representatives have called on consumers to shun this week’s Amazon Prime extravaganza and support small retailers instead. On Tuesday and Wednesday the tech giant will host its annual Prime Day event, with thousands of tempting bargains – many at up to half price. However, campaigners are calling on consumers to consider the plight of local businesses that were already struggling to compete with Amazon ahead of lockdown. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Lockdown legal challenge, cinemas, Arm, unemployment
Business leaders are mounting a legal challenge to the government’s lockdown restrictions, which they say have decimated the hospitality industry. The challenge to the legality of emergency legislation is due to be handed to Downing Street on Monday as swathes of the country prepared for stricter lockdown rules. – Guardian.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Pubs, Ocado, Apple
Boris Johnson will today reveal tough new three-tier lockdown rules for England which will close pubs, bars and gyms for millions living in coronavirus hot spots for up to six months. The Prime Minister will hold an emergency Cobra briefing on Monday morning to hammer out the final details before setting out the new nationwide system in the Commons. Local leaders in Liverpool and Manchester last night railed against the Government's decision, accusing Mr Johnson of not providing enough consultation before introducing the business-battering restrictions.
Friday newspaper round-up: Covid-19 shielding, Trump, TalkTalk, BHS, Netflix
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people face being told to stay at home this winter as ministers plan to resume shielding in infection hotspots. Advice for clinically vulnerable people to avoid others could be included in the top tier of a simplified local lockdown system to be announced next week, as concern mounts about rising infection rates in the north of England. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Vice Presidential debate, Brexit talks, Greene King, BDO, Tesco
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence both ducked tricky questions in a running-mate debate that was vastly more civil than the chaotic showdown between the principal candidates, but may be best remembered for a fly that landed on the vice president’s head. The nominees delivered their main attacks - Ms Harris on the administration’s “failure” to handle coronavirus and Mr Pence on her record as the “most liberal senator” - but seemed more concerned to avoid coming across as aggressive after the ugly clash in Cleveland between President Trump and Joe Biden.