During a rocky period on the stock market, investors would usually take solace in a guaranteed stream of dividend payments. But the coronavirus pandemic has required companies to take desperate – and at times unprecedented – measures to protect their finances. A staggering £4.2billion of dividends have been axed or deferred so far this month, … Read more
Britain’s science and pharmaceuticals expertise was out in full force as a clutch of junior market-listed firms made strides in fighting coronavirus. Novacyt and Yourgene surged after inking a manufacturing deal that will help Novacyt step up production of tests for the disease. Yourgene’s state-of-the-art facility in Manchester will initially make critical components – but … Read more
More than £1bn of shareholder payouts have been cancelled due to coronavirus after Marks & Spencer and Wetherspoons joined other firms calling off dividends. Intercontinental Hotels became the first FTSE 100 firm to hold back its final dividend yesterday, meaning its investors will miss out on a payout of around £140million. The group, which has … Read more
After two weeks of watching the oil price in free fall, investors now want to know what the repercussions will be. Global giants such as Saudi Aramco, Chevron and BP have said they will need to cut spending. But traders’ eyes turned to the North Sea yesterday, after industry body Oil & Gas UK warned … Read more
Priti Patel says sorry for Windrush scandal as official report blames ‘elements of racism’ at the Home Office Long-awaited Windrush Lessons Learned Review finally published on Thursday Inquiry ripped into Home Office over ‘appalling’ failures that led to legal British residents being deported and made destitute But was ‘unable to make definitive finding of institutional … Read more
The Windrush scandal was ‘foreseeable and avoidable’ according to a damning and long-awaited independent report into the Home Office’s handling of the crisis. The official Windrush Lessons Learned Review concluded that victims had been badly let down because of ‘systemic operational failings’ at the government department. It emerged in 2018 that the Home Office had … Read more
Shares in Britain’s biggest supermarkets bucked the trend on another dismal day for the stock market. As the FTSE 100 fell into the red, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Morrisons were some of the top gainers as shoppers scrambled for supplies after the Government tightened curbs on social contact. Supermarkets have made extraordinary statements to shoppers in … Read more
Britain’s biggest pubs, bars and restaurants report dire trading amid warnings that many will collapse this weekend with the loss of a million jobs By Tom Witherow For The Daily Mail Published: 23:29 GMT, 18 March 2020 | Updated: 23:29 GMT, 18 March 2020 Britain’s biggest pubs, bars and restaurants reported dire trading yesterday amid … Read more
What is the coronavirus? A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body’s normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word ‘corona’, which means crown, because they are encased by a … Read more
A ‘wasted decade’ of inactivity and slow political progress mean nations must now do four times as much work to meet climate change targets, a new study claims. Nations must quadruple their efforts, or do the same in one-third of the time, to comply with the climate pact they made as part of the Paris … Read more