COVID-19 Business News

Zara shop

Online push from Inditex as up to 1,200 stores to close

INDITEX, the Spanish owner of fashion and clothing stores Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti, will close up to 1,200 outlets around...
UK Government loan

Covid-19 loan schemes ‘a debt, not a grant’ cautions UK Finance

UK BUSINESSES are pessimistic about their growth potential once the COVID-19 crisis passes. A survey of 1,200 firms has found that the pandemic has negatively...
UN SDG10 Reduced Inequalities

SDG10: Finding equality in an unequal world is never easy

The UN’s sustainable development goal SDG10 — to reduce inequality within and among countries — is a particular challenge, as BV’s JASON AGNEW reports SDG10:...
An empty office

Covid hits workplace relationships — and productivity takes a knock

COVID-19’S impact on employer-employee relationships is hampering productivity, a report claims. MetLife UK found that 72 percent of employers and 62 percent of employees have...
Illustration: Businessman holding tablet with barchart

The route to profitability — in times of pandemic

ASHLEIGH HINDE, CEO and founder of contact lens company Waldo, on the difficulty of balancing the people, payments and profits equation during tough times WITH...
Shaking hands with blue latex gloves (Image by rawpixel.com)

PPE glove manufacturer to shut half its plants as Covid hits

By Hal Williams IN A BLEAK Covid irony, the world's largest manufacturer of personal protection latex gloves will shut 28 of its factories — because...
Roaring Twenties

Roaring ’20s, take two: Life returns to the high street

AS THE pandemic’s disruption fades, new patterns in consumer behaviour are taking shape. Increases in spending at the start of this year, coupled with the...
Thomas Cook shop

Firm that snapped-up troubled Thomas Cook is facing job cuts

THE COMPANY that bought-up 2,000 defunct Thomas Cook shops last October has warned that almost 900 of its staff may lose their jobs. Hays Travel...
Tyne Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Northern England in reverse: ‘14 years of growth may be lost’

REGIONS in the North of England could lose up to 14 years of growth in the wake of the pandemic, a study warns. The North...
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Autumn Statement

Sunak’s Budget brings relief to many – with a few misgivings

By HAL WILLIAMS THE BRITISH chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the 2021 Budget, with pledges to help recovery from the Covid pandemic. The support package for...