COVID-19 Business News

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...
EU flag coronavirus graphic

Fresh EU coronavirus recovery package has detractors up north

EU HEADS have agreed to set up a €540bn post-pandemic recovery fund, tied to the EU’s seven-year budget. European Council president Charles Michel, who chaired...
Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, by Viktor Vasnetsov

A menace by any other name: the ‘equaliser’ that just isn’t

By William Roman COVID-19 and coronavirus are the most common names for it, but some sociologists and economists are tentatively hailing the virus as the...
Treasure Chest

Fundraising innovation for charity shops during pandemic

BRITAIN’S charity shops are facing revenue losses of up to £28m for each month of lockdown, according to the Charity Retail Association. Vintage Cash Cow...
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...
Female speaker, training class, skills gap

Staffing association calls on UK government to address skills gap

LABOUR market data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics have elicited a welcome — and a caution — from the Association of Professional...
2019 Mercedes F1 car

Coronavirus co-operation across sectors comes up with promising equipment

THE MERCEDES F1 team is an unlikely player in the medical field, but it has had a major role in the development of a...
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...
Dad working from home, flexible working

Engineering firm funds research into lasting flexible work systems

BUILDING and civil engineering company Sir Robert McAlpine has funded a study using first-person accounts to provide employers with “more than stats” on the subject of...
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...