COVID-19 Business News

Contactless payment with smartphone

Contactless ‘in-touch with wary consumers’ — cash ‘faring poorly’

CONTACTLESS spending could soon account for 47 percent of all transactions, according to research carried out by the Centre of Retail Research (CRR). It examined...
Stock Market Charts Coronavirus

Markets catch a cold as virus fears infect stock exchanges

THE Nikkei Index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange has taken a tumble over fears at the spread of coronavirus. The 4.5 percent slump — which...
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...
Crowdfunding graphic

SMEs ‘turn to crowdfunding to fuel growth out of the pandemic’

SMEs ARE more likely to choose non-traditional ways of accessing capital, including crowdfunding (32 percent) or offering investment opportunities to employees (30 percent), than...
UN SDG9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG9: What a difference a president makes: Biden clears way for...

BV’s JASON AGNEW continues his series examining the background, implementation and ambitions of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with SDG9 — Industry, Innovation and...
Hybrid event, TED Talk

New Normal, old thrills: do hybrid events cut it?

By JOE SHEPPARD SLOWLY but surely, the world is spinning back into a familiar rhythm. The gradual return to the office is gathering pace. Theatres and...
Amazon warehouse in Spain

Amazon workers unlimited Covid-19 sick leave… with a few strings attached

CORONAVIRUS is causing havoc in the business world, and some novel stop-gap solutions are appearing amid the chaos. Amazon has good and bad news for...
Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor

Latest UK government scheme adds ‘bounce’ for businesses

CHRISTINA NAWROCKI explains the most recent UK initiative to support small businesses left floundering by the pandemic UK CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak recently...
Oil tanker at sea, platform in background

Oil price hits negative territory, Virgin ailing, firms need wage aid

CORONAVIRUS infections are dropping in many countries, but corporate and financial impacts are increasingly being felt. Virgin Australia is going into administration, the US oil...
Euro bank notes

ECB launches new aid package to soothe effects of pandemic

By HAL WILLIAMS THE EUROPEAN Central Bank has launched a €750bn emergency package to buy government and company debt across the eurozone. The temporary purchasing scheme...