COVID-19 Business News

Samsung phone

Samsung sees jump in Q2 profits thanks to remote working trend

SAMSUNG Electronics earnings have been boosted by the work-from-home boom. The world’s largest smartphone manufacturer announced Q2 operating profits up 23 percent compared with last...
Tablet showing graphs, technology, fintech

Fintech funding key to keeping SMEs strong after end of loans

ONE OF Europe’s largest business lenders says the fintech industry must be strengthened to support SMEs after the Bounce Back Loan scheme closes at...
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...
Insolvency - letter cubes

Corporate insolvencies as pandemic restrictions fade

By PATRICE CROSBOURNE THE UK Government Insolvency Service has released statistics for corporate insolvencies in England and Wales for May 2022. An increase in corporate insolvencies...
Diamond Light Source Macromolecular Crystallography

AI to the rescue? Oxford-based firm enters partnership to crack COVID-19

AN AI-DRIVEN drug-discovery company in the UK has entered a joint initiative to advance compounds that could treat COVID-19. Oxford-based Exscientia has teamed-up with Diamond...
Luxury resort, pool, sea, palm tree

The birth of the travel subscription model

By DANA DUNNE THE SIGNIFICANT increase in subscription spending during the pandemic has caught the attention of businesses across the globe. In fact, according to...
Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor

Second helping of aid for the UK’s self-employed

SELF-EMPLOYED people whose income has been hit by coronavirus can apply for a second support grant from the UK government. The first was launched in...
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...
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...
Man with dog working from home

Straddling the fence: will hybrid working be middle ground in home-or-office?

By ROSS SEYCHELL IT’S BEEN a year since the UK entered the biggest — and longest — remote-working experiment in history. But with the vaccine rollout...