Business news

• Coronavirus: Should furloughed workers offer their skills for free?

  15-05-2020 23:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Furloughed workers are offering their skills for free, but some freelancers are taking issue with the trend.
  
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• Coronavirus: 'Lockdown is opportunity of a lifetime for bike lanes'

  15-05-2020 23:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gil Penalosa of urban reform group 8 80 Cities says lockdown is the right time to make cities more bike-friendly.
  
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• U.S. state attorneys general likely to bring antitrust lawsuits against Google - source

  15-05-2020 23:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Justice Department is also moving toward bringing a case as soon as this summer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Google - along with Facebook Inc , Amazon.com Incand Apple Inc- are under a series of probes into allegations that the tech behemoths use their clout to defend their market share or expand into adjacent markets.
  
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• California officials reject subsidies for Musk's SpaceX over Tesla spat

  15-05-2020 23:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The snub comes as Musk has sparred with officials in Alameda County over his plans to resume production at the Tesla plant there, which was stopped because of the coronavirus.Five members of California's Employment Training Panel voted to reject the proposal and two voted for it, with one member absent, after discussing Musk's tweets on Tesla's reopening and media reports of layoffs at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California headquarters in recent years.
  
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• US cuts off semiconductor shipments to Huawei, China vows to retaliate

  15-05-2020 22:51 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The US threw a one-two punch at China’s rising tech power by blocking global chip supplies to telecom firm Huawei while helping a Taiwanese semiconductor producer open a next-generation plant in Arizona.China responded to the US’s escalation by threatening a series of countermeasures through its state-run news agency, including putting US companies like Apple, Qualcomm and Cisco on an “unreliable entity list”.
  
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• High-wire act: Virgin Australia keeps a bare-bones service in the air as it searches for a buyer

  15-05-2020 22:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  High-wire act: Virgin Australia keeps a bare-bones service in the air as it searches for a buyer. Airline’s administrators deal with nervous creditors, anxious unions and a swarm of potential buyers in ‘gruelling’ process
  
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• Hancock claim of ‘protective ring’ round care homes questioned

  15-05-2020 22:00
  ONS figures show care home deaths in England and Wales could be double official toll
  
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• 'Enjoying monotony helps': how to take on the world in competitive jigsaw puzzling

  15-05-2020 22:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  'Enjoying monotony helps': how to take on the world in competitive jigsaw puzzling. Australian D’Arne Healy, on the joy of puzzling and the tension of the global tournament, where rivals help pick each others’ pieces off the floor
  
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• Amazon planning to reopen its French warehouses from May 19

  15-05-2020 21:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Amazonsaid on Friday it is aiming to gradually reopen its French warehouses from May 19 as the U.S. e-commerce giant is finalizing an agreement with unions and work councils that should put an end to a spat that led to a more than one-month closure of the sites.Its six French warehouses have been closed since April 16 following court rulings that ordered it to restrict deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic or face hefty fines."We are currently finalizing a process with French unions and works
  
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• GM CFO sees 'positive signs' in U.S. retail sales in early May

  15-05-2020 21:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  General Motors Co'schief financial officer said on Friday that vehicle sales for the No. 1 U.S. automaker and the U.S. auto sector were trending in a positive direction as the sector recovers from the coronavirus pandemic."Early days, but we're seeing some positive signs in the first two weeks of May on the retail side," CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said during a webcast of a Goldman Sachs investor conference.A GM spokesman confirmed she was speaking about both GM and industry demand.
  
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• GM CEO calls self-driving unit layoffs 'prudent,' still sees 'huge opportunity'

  15-05-2020 21:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  General Motors Co'stop executive on Friday said layoffs announced a day earlier at the company's self-driving Cruise unit were "prudent" but insisted that she sees a "huge opportunity" for its vehicles to move both people and packages."We see a huge opportunity to move people and that same vehicle is very applicable to package delivery," Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said at a Bank of America investor conference.According to an internal email partially read to Reuters on Thursday, about 8%
  
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• 'Lot of work to do' on EU's COVID recovery fund - official

  15-05-2020 21:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  There is still "a lot of work to do" on the European Union's planned coronavirus recovery fund, a senior EU official said on Friday, highlighting rifts in the bloc over the scale and scope of financing needed to jumpstart the damaged economy.EU national leaders sealed a tentative deal last month to create a trillion-euro emergency fund to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic, but are far apart on details with the continent headed for its worst downturn since the 1940s.The official spoke on
  
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• 'Lot of work to do' as EU seeks deal on COVID recovery fund - senior official

  15-05-2020 21:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  There is no agreement yet between European Union countries on how much of the bloc's proposed new coronavirus recovery fund should be handed out as grants to member states and how much in loans, a senior EU official said on Friday.The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the EU executive in Brussels pushed back until May 27 the unveiling of its new proposal for the bloc's next long-term budget, and the accompanying Recovery Fund, aiming to kick-start growth on the continent headed for its
  
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• Exclusive: India watchdog reviewing antitrust allegations against Facebook's WhatsApp - sources

  15-05-2020 20:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  India's antitrust watchdog is looking into allegations that Facebook'sWhatsApp is abusing its dominant position by offering payment services to its vast base of messaging app users in the country, three sources told Reuters on Friday.The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is reviewing a complaint filed in mid-March alleging that WhatsApp was bundling its digital payment facility within its messaging app, allowing it to abuse its market position and penetrate India's booming digital payments m
  
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• Petrobras looks to China's 'teapots' to keep oil exports flowing

  15-05-2020 20:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Brazil's state-run Petrobras sees no need for cuts in oil production, executives say, as the market for its crude remains robust in China, while domestic demand for fuel picks up amid social distancing fatigue in Latin America's largest economy.On a Friday earnings call with analysts, executives credited the company's strong relationship with independent refineries in China's Shandong Province, known as "teapots,"' for allowing Petrobras to export a record amount of crude in recent months, even
  
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• Brazil's Petrobras looks to China's 'teapots' to keep exports booming

  15-05-2020 20:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras sees no need for short-term cuts in oil production, as the market for its products abroad remains robust, particularly in China, executives said on Friday.On a call with analysts following the company's first-quarter results release, executives credited the company's strong relationship with independent refineries in China's Shandong Province, known as teapots, for allowing Petrobras to export a record amount of crude in recent months, even as some economie
  
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• US steps up tech war with China by imposing new measures on Huawei

  15-05-2020 20:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  America’s tech war with China escalated on Friday as the White House imposed new restrictions on Huawei and China threatened to retaliate against US counterparts including Apple. Wilbur Ross, the US Commerce Secretary, announced controls on companies that use US equipment to supply Huawei with microchip technology, a blow intended to cripple the Chinese company’s supply chain. The order means that within 120 days, companies that manufacture or design chips that end up in Huawei equip
  
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• IMF's Georgieva urges tech firms to work on access to digital economy for all

  15-05-2020 20:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Big technology companies that are reaping gains as result of increased reliance on online systems during coronavirus quarantines and lockdowns should work to increase access to the digital economy for all, the head of the IMF said on Friday.International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told an event hosted by Politico that the crisis was devastating the global economy, but it also offered an opportunity to tackle persistent inequality and other priorities such as climate cha
  
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• Transport for London rescue package fuels City Hall feud

  15-05-2020 19:37
  Row over bailout reignites tensions between government and city’s local authority
  
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• TfL rescue package fuels City Hall feud

  15-05-2020 19:37
  Row over bailout reignites tensions between government and London’s local authority.
  
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• Fund manager Mark Barnett leaves Invesco after investor concern

  15-05-2020 19:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Fund manager Mark Barnett leaves Invesco after investor concernDeparture of Barnett, who managed £5bn of investors’ money, was ‘mutually agreed’
  
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• US retail sales plunge in April

  15-05-2020 19:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  US retail sales went into freefall last month as lockdowns kept families away from the shops, while soaring unemployment forced households to be more careful with their money. Sales dived by more than 16pc on the month in April, the steepest fall since monthly records began more than half a century ago, and came on top of the 8pc drop in March. Compared with April last year the decline is more than a fifth, according to the US Department of Commerce. Sales of clothing and accessories collapsed b
  
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• Coronavirus: VICE and The Economist announce job cuts as media industry continues to take battering from pandemic

  15-05-2020 19:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  VICE Media and The Economist rounded off a grim week for the media industry on Friday by announcing job cuts in the US, UK and internationally.The news came just days after similar cuts at Buzzfeed and Quartz, as an economic downturn caused by the coronavirus continued to negatively impact advertising revenues.
  
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• Temporary Huawei licence extension could be the last, US warns

  15-05-2020 19:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The US department of commerce says the licence may be 'revised and possibly eliminated' after the latest 90-day extension.
  
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• April care home coronavirus deaths reached 11,560

  15-05-2020 18:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Matt Hancock has said that 31,203 people died in care homes in April, of which 11,560 died with coronavirus. The health secretary said that all care home residents and staff in England are now being tested for Covid-19.
  
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• UK drops French exemption from 14-day quarantine for visitors

  15-05-2020 18:56
  Only key workers crossing Channel will be excluded but disputes over cross-border restrictions emerge across Europe
  
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• FTSE 100 closes up as investors cheer factory boost in China

  15-05-2020 18:55 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The FTSE 100 closed the day up 58.23 points, or 1%, at 5,799.77 – although the week ended down 2.3%.
  
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• Coronavirus: US economy will take over four years to recover from worst retail sales on record, economists say

  15-05-2020 18:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It will take more than four years for the US economy to recover from the largest fall in consumer spending ever recorded as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, economists say.The Census Bureau on Friday released retail sales figures showing a 16.4 per cent drop in April from March, and down 21.6 per cent unadjusted year-over-year.
  
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• Coronavirus: What is the pension triple lock and why might the pandemic threaten it?

  15-05-2020 18:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The state pension “triple lock” may be under threat as the government looks for ways to save money to pay for the cost of the coronavirus crisis.
  
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• Paris food hub emerges from lockdown with hopes of restaurant return

  15-05-2020 18:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Business is stirring at a giant wholesale produce market near Paris after France loosened coronavirus containment measures this week, but food firms are waiting for restaurant and hotel trade to return before celebrating.The easing of France's lockdown, one of the strictest in Europe, has brought some workers back to their jobs and seen the reopening of street markets that usually absorb part of the fresh produce channelled through the 234-hectare Rungis hub just south of the capital."This week
  
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• Pubs give away beer to farming as millions of pints go down the drain

  15-05-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  As many as 70m pints are set to be poured away as beer goes off while pubs stay shut during the crisis. Pubs have been forced to find novel ways of using up lager and ale that cannot be sold during the pandemic so it does not get wasted completely. Britain’s 47,000 pubs have been hit hard by government restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of coronavirus, with some publicans converting their sites into shops to keep some money coming in during lockdown. Establishments have been don
  
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• Pubs forced to pour millions of pints down the drain

  15-05-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  As many as 70m pints are set to be poured away as beer goes off while pubs stay shut during the crisis. Pubs have been forced to find novel ways of using up lager and ale that cannot be sold during the pandemic so it does not get wasted completely. Britain’s 47,000 pubs have been hit hard by government restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of coronavirus, with some publicans converting their sites into shops to keep some money coming in during lockdown. Establishments have been don
  
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• Nearly 1,500 JCB jobs at risk as demand for machines halves

  15-05-2020 18:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Nearly 1,500 JCB jobs at risk as demand for machines halvesDigger maker says 500 agency workers to be laid off and 950 further staff under threat despite extension of Covid-19 furlough scheme
  
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• Modi's stimulus package so far is all about liquidity, Indian officials say

  15-05-2020 18:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's $266 billion economic stimulus programme to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has been all about liquidity measures, with negligible extra budget spending, according to government officials.The government has announced a variety of steps for small businesses, street vendors, farmers and poor migrants, but they have largely been either credit guarantee schemes or new fund creations to be shouldered by banks and financial institutions.The go
  
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• Economic 'suicide' to hike taxes and pay down deficit fast

  15-05-2020 18:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Hiking taxes to slash the deficit would be “suicidal” for the economy and risk triggering a longer recession, economists have warned MPs. A leaked Treasury document this week predicted state borrowing could soar to more than £300bn this year, and raised the prospect of swingeing spending cuts and tax hikes to repair the public finances. But economists said it is crucial to focus on growth first - and brutal revenue-raising measures would simply crush any recovery and prolong th
  
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• Will BT sell the family silver in its hunt for cash?

  15-05-2020 18:17
  With a costly fibre rollout, the telecoms group has held talks with investors about its network plans
  
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• Marks & Spencer expected to set out post-coronavirus future

  15-05-2020 18:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The high street retailer's full-year results on Wednesday are likely to give investors more details on how the recovery can begin.
  
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• Luxury Lockdown Cocktail Club: How to make a Mint Jule with Mandarin Oriental Marrakech’s Samir El-layfi

  15-05-2020 18:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  In our Luxury lockdown cocktail club series, bartenders from the world’s best bars demonstrate how to make their signature cocktails: from the perfect Old Fashioned to the most famous martini on earth So far on the Luxury Lockdown Cocktail Club we’ve visited some of London’s most opulent hotel bars - from Dukes to The Connaught to the Rosewood - as well as drinking dens further afield, including Dublin, New York and southern Spain. This week, our home bar stool travels take us
  
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• Economists warn ministers to treat virus impact ‘like fighting a war’

  15-05-2020 18:13 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  One economist said most experts are forecasting the magnitude of the fall in GDP to be “between 10% and 15%” for the year.
  
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• Market report: Restart target just the ticket for National Express shareholders

  15-05-2020 18:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Shares in National Express drove upwards on Friday, after the business said it had begun selling tickets in preparation for a return to service in July. The company said it was respecting government guidance and was selling tickets for a July 1 restart of a “core coach network” that focuses on large and medium-sized towns and cities. The FTSE 250 firm reported a 50pc slump in revenues in April compared with the same period last year, which it said was in line with guidance provided t
  
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• Banks fear action by watchdog after doling out emergency loans

  15-05-2020 18:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Banks fear they are at risk of a future assault from regulators over emergency coronavirus loans because a change in City rules has still not been signed off. The industry was promised that lending rules would be relaxed when the taxpayer-backed Bounce Back Loans Scheme launched almost two weeks ago to help the smallest firms borrow money. Banks were concerned that otherwise, they might later be accused of handing out cash irresponsibly. But the tweaks have still not been approved by the Financi
  
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• BT says Openreach sale report 'inaccurate' - internal message

  15-05-2020 17:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's BTsaid a report in the Financial Times that it was in talks about selling a stake in its networks business Openreach was "inaccurate"."Many of you will have seen the reports overnight about BT being in talks to sell a stake in Openreach," Openreach CEO Clive Selley said in a message to staff.
  
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• Jurgen Klopp surprises three Liverpool fans on Zoom

  15-05-2020 17:43 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Klopp invited one of the fans to his "food room" in Anfield where they could share a beer
  
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• Wirecard shares plunge as Dubai-based partner shuts shop

  15-05-2020 17:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Shares in Wirecardfell to more than two-year lows on Friday after a Dubai-based business partner closed its doors even as the German payments company played down the impact on operations.The shares dropped after a tweet pointed to a May 11 liquidation notice in the newspaper Gulf Today by Al Alam Solution Provider FZ based in Dubai.Al Alam was one of Wirecard's routing partners for payment transactions.
  
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• Shares in Wirecard fall sharply; traders cite concerns about Dubai business partner

  15-05-2020 17:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Shares in Wirecardfell more than 13% to their lowest in more than two years on Friday, traders pointing to a tweet about a business partner based in Dubai liquidating as the reason for the sudden sharp drop in afternoon trade.The tweet on Friday pointed to a May 11 liquidation notice in the newspaper Gulf Today by Al Alam Solution Provider FZ based in Dubai.In October and December last year, the German payments company said Al Alam Solutions FZ was a routing partner for payment transactions head
  
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• Facebook pays $400m to acquire Gif library Giphy

  15-05-2020 17:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebook is buying the popular image-sharing library Giphy, which is used by hundreds of millions of people to express themselves with pizzazz. The company said on Friday that it would integrate Giphy into Instagram, with US media reporting the price tag as $400m (£330m). Giphy lets users of various social networks search through and post animated Gif files to snappily sum up a reaction or emotion. The deal will render a service used by Twitter, Reddit, Slack and Pinterest part of the powe
  
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• Fiat Chrysler in talks over $6.8 billion state-guaranteed loan - source

  15-05-2020 17:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Fiat Chrysleris in talks with Italian lender Intesa Sanpaoloover a 6.3 billion euro (5.61 billion pounds)state-guaranteed loan to help the automaker weather the coronavirus crisis, a source close to the matter said on Friday.Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has gradually restarted its operations in Italy since the end of April, after the crisis triggered by the virus virtually erased demand for new vehicles, pushing manufacturers to temporarily halt most production and burn cash.The loan, which is part of em
  
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• Fiat Chrysler in talks over £5.6 billion state-guaranteed loan in Italy - sources

  15-05-2020 17:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Fiat Chrysleris in talks with Intesa Sanpaoloover a 6.3 billion euro (5.6 billion pounds) loan backed by Italian government to help the automaker weather the coronavirus crisis, two sources close to the matter said on Friday.Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has gradually restarted its operations in Italy since the end of April.The loan, which is part of emergency liquidity measures the government is making available to Italy's businesses, must be approved by Intesa Sanpaolo's board, the source said.
  
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• Renault may ride to the rescue for Nissan's Sunderland plant

  15-05-2020 17:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Workers furloughed from their jobs at Nissan’s huge Sunderland plant have been watching in horror as global car sales collapse during the coronavirus pandemic. But they got a rare piece of good news on Thursday when it emerged that Renault could move production of two models from Spain to Sunderland plant, to be made alongside with Nissan’s Qashqai and Juke vehicles. Renault and Nissan work together under a strategic global alliance that has frayed in recent years, but any deal could
  
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• Marks & Spencer joins growing list of UK firms deemed 'junk' investments

  15-05-2020 17:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Marks & Spencer joins growing list of UK firms deemed 'junk' investments. Venerable retailer among 24 firms downgraded by S&P; during coronavirus crisis
  
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