Author: LoveWorld UK

Iran’s parliament reconvened on Wednesday after the Feb. 21 elections under strict health protocols and social distancing rules to ward off the coronavirus in one of the hardest-hit Middle Eastern countries. Many lawmakers wore masks and their temperatures were taken before entering the parliament building in southern Tehran, Iranian media reported. Iran’s hardline watchdog body, the Guardian Council, which must approve parliamentary candidates, disqualified thousands of moderates and leading conservatives and permitted voters a choice mostly between hardline and low-key conservative candidates loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to contest the elections. Like hardliners, conservatives back the ruling theocracy,…

Britons spent a record 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) online buying groceries during a four week period in April and May as they shunned supermarket trips during the coronavirus lockdown, industry data showed on Wednesday. The online share of 13% of the grocery market in the four weeks to May 16 was up from 7% at the same time last year and 10% higher than in April, Market researcher Nielsen said. Nielsen said 7.9 million British households placed an online grocery order, up from 4.8 million during the same period last year, including 1.1 million new online shoppers. While online…

British property funds are set to remain frozen for months as the market is impossible to value due to the coronavirus crisis, and some may need to change structure to survive, industry sources say. Ten big open-ended property funds tracked by Morningstar, with a total of 6.5 billion pounds ($8 billion) under management, stopped investors from getting their money out in mid March, saying valuers could not accurately assess real estate assets in a plunging economy. With question marks over the future of office working, the retail industry in crisis and the housing market only just reopening, the price of…

Britain will reopen thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping centres next month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, setting out a timetable for businesses as part of moves to ease the coronavirus lockdown. He told a news conference that from June 1, outdoor markets and car showrooms could be reopened as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines, and all other non-essential retail from June 15 if the government’s tests are met. Johnson is keen to restart an economy which has been all but shut down since Britain entered a lockdown to…

London-listed shares jumped on Tuesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out plans to reopen thousands of high street shops next month from a coronavirus-induced lockdown, while Aston Martin soared after naming a new chief executive officer. The luxury carmaker (AML.L) surged 24.8% and was on course for its best day in nearly two months as it said Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, would become its CEO on Aug. 1, replacing Andy Palmer who stepped down on Monday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 1.9% and the mid-cap FTSE 250 2.4%, joining in a global rally as hopes of more…

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, supported by growing confidence in the market that producers will come good on commitments to cut crude supply while demand picks up with more cars back on the road as coronavirus lockdowns eased around the world. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 3.4%, or $1.12, to $34.37 a barrel as of 0652 GMT, just off an intra-day high of $34.54. There was no WTI settlement on Monday because of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. Brent crude futures were up nearly 1.7%, or 61 cents to $36.14, adding to a 1.1% gain on Monday…

AXA (AXAF.PA) said on Tuesday it would meet the bulk of claims from some restaurant owners after a Paris court ruled last week the French insurer should pay one owner two-months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses. The ruling on a disputed contract was seen as opening the door to a wave of similar litigation. AXA also said it would provide a further 500 million euros (446.84 million pounds) in aid for small companies. Chief executive Thomas Buberl said AXA planned to compensate business interruption losses to the majority of restaurant owners whose contracts were similar to the one studied by…

Eurowings, the low-cost airline owned by Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), said it would cut a third of the jobs at its headquarters as part of wider efforts to return the German airline group to profitability after a major state bailout. “We have around 1,000 staff at head office and of those we will reduce 300,” Eurowings Chief Executive Jens Bischof told a briefing in Duesseldorf. Germany threw Lufthansa a 9 billion euro (8.04 billion pounds) lifeline on Monday, agreeing a bailout which gives Berlin a veto in the event of a hostile bid for the airline. Bischof, in remarks embargoed for publication…

A slump in capital investments, private consumption and exports pushed the German economy into a recession in the first quarter, detailed data showed on Monday, giving a glimpse of the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Statistics Office said capital investments fell by 6.9%, private consumption by 3.2% and exports by 3.1% between January and March compared with the last three months of 2019. This meant that private consumption took off 1.7 percentage points of overall economic activity and net trade shaved off 0.8 percentage points, translating into a first-quarter contraction of 2.2%, the steepest rate since 2009.…

Oil prices rose on Monday, erasing earlier losses, as countries around the world continued to ease lockdown measures imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, boosting hopes for a recovery in fuel demand. Amid quiet trading, with financial centres Singapore, London and New York all closed for holidays, Brent was up 6 cents, or 0.2%, at $35.19 a barrel by 0636 GMT. U.S. oil CLc1 had gained 27 cents, or 0.82%, at $33.52 a barrel. Both contracts have risen for the past four weeks, although prices are still down around 45% so far this year. “Oil markets are focused on the…