Wednesday newspaper round-up: Profiteering, carers, self-employed help
The online shopping platforms eBay and Amazon Marketplace are failing to crackdown on a surge in profiteering by sellers due to the coronavirus, a consumer group has warned, after its investigation uncovered a wide range of products on sale at “extortionate” prices. Which? found “consistent overpricing” of household items, including cleaning products, hand sanitiser, thermometers, baby formula and tampons, which have all been in high demand since the coronavirus outbreak but in short supply in supermarkets and pharmacies. – Guardian
Private healthcare company Cera Care is creating 10,000 new jobs for home carers to support elderly or vulnerable people during the coronavirus outbreak, and to provide work for those who have lost their jobs. The firm said it will offer successful applicants training courses and assessments through its digital platform, allowing them to become formally certified as carers and able to start earning money after 10 days. – Guardian
The Chancellor is weighing up an unprecedented rescue package for Britain’s 5 million self-employed workers that could follow measures introduced in Denmark and Norway. An option being considered by the Treasury is paying contractors a proportion of their income using earnings made in recent years, it is understood. Sources close to the discussions said there were still major sticking points over how to support the self-employed, including avoiding handing out money to wealthy contractors. – Telegraph
The Bank of England has launched an emergency liquidity scheme to ensure commercial lenders do not run out of cash as it warned that immediate disruption from the pandemic could be more severe than its banking stress tests. Underlining the risks to the financial system, the Bank has activated its contingent term repo facility (CTRF), an unlimited and cheap source of funding for commercial banks that desperately need cash. – The Times