COVID-19 Business News

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...
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...
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...
Gold bars

Selfless gesture: world’s super rich calling for higher taxation

SOME of the richest people on the planet want higher taxes on themselves and their peers to aid economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. 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...
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...
Working from home, working in office

Home or office? Future is hybrid, say HR heads

MOST HR professionals — 65 percent of them — believe workers will divide their time between office and home after pandemic restrictions have been...
Tesco Colney Hatch by Michelle Davies

A crazed new world: coronavirus, paranoia, and Zombie Apocalypse shopping tips

By Hal Williams YOU WALK into the supermarket, intending to just pick up a few things, and wha…. ? The place is swarming. Shelves are...
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...
shop door, open sign

A nation of shopkeepers? Entrepreneurs, more like!

ENTREPRENEURIAL Britain is a two-day initiative planned for 2021 and designed “to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit” of UK towns and cities. The outbreak of Covid-19...