COVID-19 Business News

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...
Online Banking, Laptop

Banks ramp-up tech recruitment following pandemic — retail banking ‘may disappear’

The advance of digital currency is one thing, but the swiftness by banks to incorporate tech roles is another ANALYSTS predict online banking penetration in...
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...
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...
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...
Pott'd founders Frankie and Sascha

A founder’s story, and some Pott’d history

Lockdown was indisputably dull, but as FRANKIE THOROGOOD recounts, the boredom led to an exciting business idea... THE INSPIRATION for Pott’d came during a Groundhog...
Friyay, neon sign, TGIF, thank god it's friday

TGIF, right? Hybrid- and home-working add flavour to Fridays

FRIDAYS may be everyone’s favourite weekday, but the last day of the working week sees 15 percent less business activity than Mondays to Thursdays. As...
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...
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...