Author: LoveWorld UK

The coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom is showing signs of slowing and antibody tests could be ready in days, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said on Monday. “We think the epidemic is just about slowing in the UK right now,” Ferguson told BBC radio. Britain, which has the world’s fifth largest economy, initially took an approach to containing the spread of the disease that was modest in comparison to European countries such as Italy. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed stringent controls after projections showed a quarter of a million people could die.…

The United Kingdom will use firefighters to help deliver food, retrieve dead bodies and drive ambulances as it braces for the looming peak of the coronavirus outbreak that has already claimed the lives of more than 22,000 people across the world. Britain initially took a strikingly modest approach to the worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza epidemic but then changed tack to impose stringent controls after projections showed a quarter of a million British people could die. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a virtual lockdown of the world’s fifth largest economy to prevent the spread of the COVID-19…

Locked-down Britons all over the country took to their balconies and door steps on Thursday evening to applaud health workers who are battling the spread of coronavirus – an emotional show of solidarity during the nation’s worst crisis since World War Two. Clapping, banging pots and pans, cheering and waving at neighbours with whom they are no longer able to shake hands, vast numbers of people took part in the “Clap for our Carers” initiative, which mirrors similar events in other countries. Italians, who have been the hardest hit by the virus and have been under strict lockdown for much…

Britain’s main share index fell on Friday, with losses in travel and homebuilder stocks halting a three-day rally fuelled by stimulus actions to avert an economic meltdown due to the coronavirus crisis. The FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 3.6% by 0827 GMT, with homebuilders such as Berkeley Group (BKGH.L), Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) and Persimmon (PSN.L) dropping between 5% and 10% after the UK government urged people to avoid moving house during the virus outbreak. Shares in one of Britain’s largest housebuilders Redrow (RDW.L) fell 6% after revealing it was in talks with six banks to secure additional credit and had applied to take…

Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump during a phone call on Friday that he would have China’s support in fighting the coronavirus, as the United States faces the prospect of becoming the next global epicentre of the pandemic. The United States now has the most coronavirus cases of any country, with 84,946 infections and 1,259 deaths. Hospitals in cities like New York and New Orleans struggle to cope with the wave of patients. Xi’s offer of assistance came amid a long-running war of words between Beijing and Washington over various issues including the coronavirus epidemic. Trump and…

Britons around the country were set to take to their balconies and front gardens on Thursday evening to applaud healthcare workers who are battling the spread of coronavirus. The “Clap for our Carers” initiative, which has been widely spread on social media, encourages people to deliver a round of applause at 2000 GMT to show their appreciation to doctors, nurses, and all those tackling the COVID-19 outbreak. “During these unprecedented times they need to know that we are grateful,” the message said. “Please join us on 26th March at 8pm for a big applause (from front doors, garden, balcony, windows,…

British financial regulators announced a welter of measures on Thursday to give companies more time to publish results and banks more leeway for handling troubled loans. Britain’s economy has gone into lockdown during the coronavirus crisis and a recession is predicted, making it difficult for companies assess earnings and whether they can stay in business. The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the Financial Conduct Authority and auditing regulator the Financial Reporting Council said the reduction in activity could be “sharp and large”. But activity was likely to rebound sharply once social distancing measures are lifted, they forecast. In…

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record-low level of 0.1% on Thursday and said it was ready to expand its asset purchases further if needed to support the economy or guard against an unwarranted tightening of financial conditions. The BoE said it was maintaining the total size of its bond-buying programme – comprising mostly British government debt and some corporate bonds – at 645 billion pounds. The central bank made two emergency cuts to its key interest rate earlier this month and boosted its bond-buying programme in a bid to offset some of the hit…

Britain made an emergency order of 10,000 ventilators designed at breakneck speed by bagless vacuum cleaner company Dyson, the first fruits of an industry-wide call to arms to prepare for the looming peak of the coronavirus outbreak. Ahead of an expected surge of cases that could overwhelm Britain’s publicly funded health service, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an urgent appeal to manufacturers 10 days ago to build ventilators to help keep patients alive. Billionaire founder James Dyson said he had drawn on the company’s expertise in air movement, motors, power systems, manufacturing and supply chain to design and build an…

European shares surged on Wednesday following a strong rally in the previous session, as investors bet on unprecedented stimulus measures to ease the economic pain on businesses and households from the coronavirus pandemic. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 4.2%, with energy .SXEP, autos .SXAP, insurers .SXIP and financials .SXFP jumping between 5.4% and 6.7%. With an 8% surge on Tuesday, swings last seen at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the benchmark index has recovered its losses from mid March, but remains more than 25% below its record high last month. On Wednesday, U.S. officials reached a…