Author: LoveWorld UK

Electricals retailer Dixons Carphone said strong online demand was partially offsetting declines from stores being shut in the coronavirus lockdown, but it scrapped its dividend due to the uncertainty ahead. The UK-based group, which also has stores in Ireland, Scandinavia and Greece, said on Wednesday that it was focused on strengthening its liquidity, and had extended its debt facilities, putting the company in a robust position financially. Dixons said that online sales, for products connected to the lockdown such as computers for home working and fridges and breadmakers for increased food preparation, were making up for around two-thirds of store…

China accused Australia of “petty tricks” on Wednesday in an intensifying dispute over Canberra’s push for an international inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak that could affect diplomatic and economic ties between the countries. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his proposed inquiry into how the coronavirus developed and spread would not be targeted at China but was needed given COVID-19 had killed more than 200,000 people and shut down much of the global economy. “Now, it would seem entirely reasonable and sensible that the world would want to have an independent assessment of how this all occurred, so we can learn…

The United States has reported more than a million coronavirus infections only because of its testing, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, hailing the effort as being “much better than any other country in the world”. The Twitter comments came amid warnings from state public health officials that shortages of trained workers and materials have limited testing capacity. “The only reason the U.S. has reported one million cases of coronavirus is that our testing is sooo much better than any other country in the world,” Trump said on Twitter. “Other countries are way behind us in testing, and therefore show…

British retailers cut the prices of non-food items by the most since at least 2006 this month as they try to shift stock that they are struggling to sell due to the coronavirus, industry data showed on Wednesday. After figures on Tuesday showed the biggest fall in sales since December 2008, the data from the British Retail Consortium added to signs of the damage to the sector from the closure of non-essential stores to slow the spread of COVID-19. Non-food prices in April were 3.7% lower than a year before, the sharpest drop since the survey began in 2006, the…

British finance minister Rishi Sunak bowed to pressure on Monday to do more to help companies survive the coronavirus shutdown, announcing full state guarantees on lending to Britain’s smallest businesses. Sunak, who previously opposed 100% government backing for emergency credit for small firms, said the government would fully stand behind commercial loans of up to 50,000 pounds ($62,000) to firms. Banks handling the loans will not be required to run credit checks or assess the long-term viability of applicants. Firms will have no interest or repayments for the next 12 months. “Some small businesses are still struggling to access credit,”…

Brazil’s government is working on a plan to gradually reopen economic activity that has been shuttered in efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and hopes professional soccer matches can resume shortly without spectators, an Economy Ministry senior official said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference in Brasilia, productivity and competition secretary Carlos da Costa said there is still no date for the resumption of business activity or soccer games, and stressed that health and safety will be the main priority in all decisions. Da Costa said soccer was one example of a sector in the economy that…

European shares hovered near two-week highs on Tuesday as a slate of strong earnings reports from companies, including Novartis and UBS, outweighed a slump in oil prices and shares of Wirecard. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% by 0722 GMT, after closing at its highest level since mid-April on Monday as many countries planned to ease coronavirus-induced lockdown measures. Europe’s oil & gas sector .SXEP shed 0.6% as oil prices CLc1 LCOc1 sank on concerns about dwindling crude storage capacity worldwide. [O/R] London-based BP (BP.L) slipped 1.8% as it forecast significantly lower refining margins in the second quarter and…

A London bus stop has been transformed into a children’s art gallery by a local resident who wanted to brighten the drudgery of lockdown life, creating a colourful community hub amid the anxiety and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. A hand-written sign with an Instagram handle encourages kids and adults alike to contribute submissions, with the wall of the bus stop covered in drawings depicting things such as a unicorn, flowers and rainbows, which have come to symbolise positivity and solidarity with Britain’s health workers during the outbreak. Sarah Lamarr, a part time teacher and mother of 4-year-old Rosie, started…

Euro zone banks recorded a surge in emergency credit demand from corporate clients in the first quarter and a further rise is likely as the coronavirus pandemic batters the economy, the European Central Bank said in a bank lending survey on Tuesday. Credit standards, or banks’ internal loan approval criteria, were also tightened but this deterioration was “small” compared to the global financial crisis and the bloc’s subsequent debt crisis, the ECB added. “Firms’ demand for loans or drawing of credit lines surged in the first quarter of 2020, on account of firms’ emergency liquidity needs,” the ECB added. “In…

Britain’s airlines want the government’s coronavirus wage support scheme to be extended beyond June, maintaining the assistance for longer with a only slow recovery in air travel expected. Airlines UK, the industry’s representative body, wrote to the finance minister requesting an extension of the scheme, which airlines including British Airways (ICAG.L) and easyJet (EZJ.L) have used to furlough workers. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the government pays 80% of the wages of staff who are temporarily laid off, up to 2,500 pounds a month. Airlines, many of which have grounded the majority of their fleets, have used the scheme…