COVID-19 Business News

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...

UK faces ‘productivity collapse’ as remote workers admit they do less

BRITAIN’S economy is on the brink of a productivity collapse, with homebound workers admitting they get away with an average of two hours and...
Businessman in handcuffs. Covid scheme fraud illustration

Lengthy bans for directors who fiddled Covid scheme

AN AVERAGE of 35 directors are being banned by the UK Insolvency Service each month for abusing the Covid Support Scheme. That’s almost treble the...
Skyscrapers with aircraft in sky

Job-swap hope for airline workers — but misery for EasyJet staff

By Hal Williams IN A WEEK where EasyJet announced plans to cut up to 30 percent of its employees to save costs, home healthcare company...
Hands, calculator, paperwork

Bid to ease virus impacts on cash flow ‘flawed’ — CEO

THE UK government’s proposed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CIBLS) is coming in for some criticism. HM Treasury and the Bank of England last week...
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:...
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...
SBA Paycheck Protection Program

Covid relief programme ‘looted by fraudsters’

UNITED States prosecutors are investigating “the largest fraud in US history” — billions of taxpayer dollars for coronavirus aid stolen and used to buy...
Ukraine sunflowers field - Ukraine flag

Ukraine invasion could drive a recession and is crippling retail

Deloitte economist looks beyond the immediate tragedy of war to predict tough times ahead THE WAR in Ukraine has dramatically dialled up the risk of...
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...