COVID-19 Business News

Zoom conference call on laptop

Pandemic policies linger on — and ‘hurt workers’

RESEARCH shows 59 percent of workers in “deskless” industries — manufacturing, care, construction, and retail — believe the negative effects of the pandemic are...
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...
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...
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As everything falls apart, UK tech sector shows resilience

THE UK’S fastest-growing sector, the tech industry, will maintain resilience despite the Covid-19 outbreak. That optimistic claim follows analysis from recruitment firm Robert Walters. In...
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...
Oil tanker at sea, platform in background

Oil price hits negative territory, Virgin ailing, firms need wage aid

CORONAVIRUS infections are dropping in many countries, but corporate and financial impacts are increasingly being felt. Virgin Australia is going into administration, the US oil...
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...
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...