Business news

• Shoppers revel as Printemps department store reopens in Paris

  28-05-2020 23:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Masked shoppers lined up to browse at luxury boutiques inside Printemps' main Paris store on Thursday, one of the city's last major department stores to reopen after two months of closure - though a lack of tourists is likely to remain a major drag on sales.Printemps, owned by Qatari investors, is one of the pre-eminent French department stores alongside Galeries Lafayette, and a big draw for tourists in Paris, though the coronavirus pandemic has all but frozen international travel.Dozens of sho
  
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• Renault prepares for 15,000 job cuts

  28-05-2020 22:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The French carmaker in February reported its first annual loss in a decade
  
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• S&P downgrades Rolls-Royce to junk status

  28-05-2020 22:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  British engineering giant Rolls-Royce had its credit rating slashed to junk on Thursday night in the latest sign of the pressures facing the aerospace sector. Standard and Poor's Global Ratings said it had cut Rolls’ long and short term ratings to BB and B respectively with a negative outlook, as the pandemic continues to disrupt global air travel. The company had held its investment-grade rating for the past 20 years. “We expect the company to materially underperform against our pre
  
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• S&P downgrade Rolls-Royce to junk status

  28-05-2020 22:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  British engineering giant Rolls-Royce had its credit rating slashed to junk on Thursday night in the latest sign of the pressures facing the aerospace sector. Standard and Poor's Global Ratings said it had cut Rolls’ long and short term ratings to BB and B respectively with a negative outlook, as the pandemic continues to disrupt global air travel. The company had held its investment-grade rating for the past 20 years. “We expect the company to materially underperform against our pre
  
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• Why Twitter should ban Donald Trump

  28-05-2020 21:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  Why Twitter should ban Donald TrumpTrump’s executive order on social media would undermine free speech – and probably go nowhere – but it’s an effective distraction. Still, Trump’s abuse of Twitter means it’s time to close his account. Here’s why:
  
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• S&P cuts Rolls-Royce credit rating to junk on COVID-19 hit

  28-05-2020 21:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut engine maker Rolls-Royce'scredit rating to junk on Thursday, citing the disruption caused to global air travel from the COVID-19 pandemic.S&P cut its rating for the British company to "BB" from "BBB-", below investment-grade."Actions to contain the pandemic, including government-imposed social-distancing measures, travel restrictions, and stay-at-home orders, have suddenly and sharply reduced global demand for air travel," S&P said in a statement.
  
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• Sunak appeals to science in push for swifter lifting of UK lockdown

  28-05-2020 21:45
  Lower risk of transmission outdoors could spur relaxation of rules for hospitality industry
  
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• Sunak appeals to science in push for swifter easing of UK restrictions

  28-05-2020 21:45
  Johnson shows signs of relaxing ‘extreme caution’ as debate over 2-metre rule grows
  
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• Science appears to back Sunak push for swifter lockdown lifting

  28-05-2020 21:45
  Lower risk of transmission outdoors could spur relaxation of rules for hospitality industry
  
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• Princess Beatrice's wedding should have been today - which tiara might she eventually wear?

  28-05-2020 21:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Who knows how Princess Beatrice and her fiancé, Edo Mapelli Mozzi, are marking today, their should-have-been wedding day. Perhaps they’ll raise a glass with friends and family via Zoom, or maybe they’ll pop a nice bottle of Bolly during a picnic à deux in the grounds of her future mother-in-law’s house near Chipping Norton, where they are believed to be spending lockdown. Like thousands of other brides whose weddings have been postponed due to the coronavirus cris
  
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• PM bars advisers from answering questions

  28-05-2020 21:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson stopped his top scientific and medical advisers, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, answering questions about Dominic Cummings at today's daily briefing.
  
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• What if the US removes Hong Kong's special status?

  28-05-2020 20:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Until now, the US has given Hong Kong favourable trading terms
  
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• Johnson outlines phased reopening of shops and schools

  28-05-2020 20:54
  Groups of up to 6 able to meet outdoors in England from Monday while keeping social distancing
  
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• Johnson outlines partial phased lifting of lockdown

  28-05-2020 20:54
  Groups of up to 6 able to meet outdoors in England from Monday as controls on schools and shops eased
  
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• PM bars advisers from answering questions on Cummings

  28-05-2020 20:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson stopped his top scientific and medical advisers, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, answering questions about Dominic Cummings at today's daily briefing.
  
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• Flutter Entertainment taps investors for cash as it bets on growth plan

  28-05-2020 20:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power Betfair, has tapped investors for cash to ramp up its expansion plans and shore up its finances. The Irish betting group, which recently acquired The Stars Group, owner of Poker Stars, said it intends to secure funds through the placing of just over eight million shares worth €0.09 each in an equity raise. The shares will be placed imminently and commence trading next Tuesday. As part of the placing, Fox Corporation will increase its investmen
  
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• Trump's order taking aim at Twitter is 'bluster' - legal experts

  28-05-2020 20:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to curb what he says is social media censorship is a political gambit and will not change the legal obligations of companies like Twitter Incand Facebook Inc , according to legal experts.An executive order signed by Trump on Thursday directs federal agencies to clarify the scope of a law known as Section 230, which protects internet companies from liability for illegal content posted by users and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts.Legal exp
  
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• Zuckerberg distances Facebook from Twitter in Trump fight

  28-05-2020 20:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg took pains to distance his company from Twitter and its fight with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, as the White House moved to scrap a law protecting social media companies.Republican Trump, who accuses social media firms of bias against conservatives, without evidence, stepped up his attacks on Twitter after the company put a fact-checking label on two of his tweets about mail-in ballots on Tuesday for the first time."We have a different policy
  
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• Monsoon Accessorize on the brink, putting 3,500 jobs at risk

  28-05-2020 20:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Monsoon Accessorize on the brink, putting 3,500 jobs at risk. Report suggests fashion firm is ready to call in administrators as early as Friday
  
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• Couriers delivering coronavirus test samples vote to strike over health and safety concerns

  28-05-2020 20:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Medical couriers delivering coronavirus testing samples for the NHS have voted to strike after the company employing them refused to offer the riders themselves tests.They also allege that NHS contractor The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) targeted eight couriers for redundancy because they had been active in campaigning for improved working conditions.
  
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• EasyJet's axe-wielding smacks of opportunism

  28-05-2020 20:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  EasyJet's axe-wielding smacks of opportunism. Laying off ‘up to 30%’ of the workforce seems extreme if we all start flying again
  
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• Talks on support for German car industry delayed - Bild

  28-05-2020 20:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Closely-watched talks between top German politicians and car industry representatives to discuss support for a sector hit hard by the coronavirus crisis will no longer take place on Tuesday, the head of the VDA car association told Bild.The top-selling daily quoted VDA President Hildegard Mueller as saying Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition parties still had to agree on measures and that the meeting was off."But the question of an economic stimulus for the automotive industry is still on the a
  
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• UK tax authority accuses General Electric of fraud in $1bn dispute

  28-05-2020 19:58
  HMRC applies to change its case to allege that ‘fraudulent misrepresentations’ were made
  
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• PHE: Contact tracing software failures due to security failsafes

  28-05-2020 19:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Dr Isabel Oliver of Public Health England explains says that software failures in the NHS Track and Trace program which launched this morning were because of extensive security measures.
  
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• EU recovery is 'no battle between frugal and free-spending' states, says Spain

  28-05-2020 19:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  European Union leaders must reach a deal fast on a recovery fund to avoid a long and painful recession for a region shattered by the coronavirus pandemic, Spain's foreign minister said.The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a 750 billion euro (673.8 billion pounds) plan to prop up the bloc's economies, but it could face resistance in fiscally conservative northern nations dubbed "the frugal four": Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya
  
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• Fiscal policy must now support the recovery

  28-05-2020 19:35
  Governments have a chance to invest in reshaping economies
  
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• Potential Virgin bidders ‘nervous’ about lack of government support

  28-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Potential Virgin bidders ‘nervous’ about lack of government support. Airline may need bailout to bridge gap between potential sale and creditor’s meeting but government inaction could stymie sale
  
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• Decline in jobs and incomes eases as coronavirus restrictions begin to lift, ANU survey finds

  28-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Decline in jobs and incomes eases as coronavirus restrictions begin to lift, ANU survey finds. Employment levelled out and average hours worked rose in May, but more than half of Australians remain anxious
  
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• Australian government asks China for same reduction in trade barriers as US

  28-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Australian government asks China for same reduction in trade barriers as US. Request emerges as experts warn of ‘collateral damage’ from Xi Jinping and Donald Trump deal to end trade war
  
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• Signs US unemployment crisis has peaked as jobless get back to work

  28-05-2020 19:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The extraordinary spike in US unemployment could be over as more Americans appear to have got back to work than joined the ranks of the jobless. Another 2.1m filed initial jobless claims last week, taking the total who have done so since the pandemic lockdowns began to more than 40m. However, the number of continuing jobless claims dropped sharply from 25m to 21m, indicating that limited economic reopenings have begun to take effect and allowed jobs to return. “The peak in continuing claim
  
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• Paddy Power owner taps investors for cash as online gaming revenues jump

  28-05-2020 19:16 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Flutter Entertainment, which also owns Betfair, said it intends to secure funds through the placing of eight million shares in an equity raise.
  
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• Euronext shuts London exchange that had one listing

  28-05-2020 19:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  Pan-European exchange Euronext said on Thursday it was closing its regulated exchange in London by June 30 to shift resources elsewhere in the group.Euronext UK Markets Limited obtained a regulated exchange in 2014, saying at the time it wanted to attract international issuers looking to list in London that could also enjoy access to the exchange group's wider market across Europe.It was pitting itself against the London Stock Exchange and ended up with only one listing, Getlink, formerly known
  
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• German union accuses Volkswagen of 'management errors' that put jobs at risks

  28-05-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Germany's biggest labour union criticised Volkswagenon Thursday for a recent advert deemed racist and other "errors", saying management had damaged the carmaker's reputation and put jobs at risk.The IG Metall union, in an open letter to the carmaker's management and supervisory boards, said it was shocked by the advert for Golf cars, calling it "one example of a whole chain of management errors".Last week Volkswagen withdrew an advert posted on its official Instagram page for its Golf cars that
  
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• Bank SEB's board no longer plans to propose a dividend for 2019

  28-05-2020 18:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Swedish bank SEB said on Thursday its board no longer planned to propose to the annual general meeting that a dividend be paid to shareholders for 2019."Changing its previous proposal, the board of directors proposes that no payment of dividend will be made and that the entire amount available will be carried forward," it said in a statement.SEB in March said it would evaluate whether to pay the proposed dividend after Sweden's financial watchdog and the government said banks should refrain from
  
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• Honour killing: Sleeping 14-year-old beheaded by her father

  28-05-2020 18:55 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The national outcry following the murder could lead to new laws against honour killing.
  
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• European head of WTO would be 'wonderful' says EU trade chief

  28-05-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Europe should have a candidate to become the next head of the World Trade Organization, EU trade chief Phil Hogan said on Thursday, describing the prospect of a future European head as "wonderful".Brazilian Director-General Roberto Azevedo will quit at the end of August, a year earlier than expected."Of course we will look forward to having a European candidate," EU trade commissioner Hogan told the trade committee of the European Parliament.
  
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• Coronavirus: How the crisis is unlocking a completely new available workforce

  28-05-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  “What this pandemic has shown companies is that lots of roles they thought couldn’t be done remotely — can be.”
  
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• Premier League agrees June 17 restart following coronavirus suspension

  28-05-2020 18:52
  More than £500m at stake for clubs from broadcasting and sponsorship revenues
  
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• Volkswagen board formally okays Ford alliance projects

  28-05-2020 18:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Volkswagensaid on Thursday its supervisory board had approved several projects in a multibillion-dollar alliance with Ford Motorthat was first announced last July.Among the shared projects specified by VW are a midsize pickup to be developed by Ford; a city delivery van to be developed by VW; a larger commercial van to be developed by Ford, and a new electric vehicle for Ford of Europe, to be built on VW's electric vehicle architecture.Regarding official approval of the agreements, a Ford spokes
  
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• In Russia, scammers exploit pandemic to launder money using medical goods purchases

  28-05-2020 18:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a new form of financial fraud in Russia, with people using medical goods purchases as a front for money laundering scams, the central bank said on Thursday.Suspicious money transfers out of the country from domestic banks were at a record low last year, said Dmitry Skobelkin, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, but some fraudulent practices had risen since the onset of the health crisis.
  
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• Debenhams cuts more than 1,000 head office and service jobs

  28-05-2020 18:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Debenhams cuts more than 1,000 head office and service jobsBritish department store chain slims down with redundancies at headquarters and in outlets* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• How to make your online virtual event a success – 6 top tips

  28-05-2020 18:39 via growthbusiness.co.uk
  
  Originally written by Alicia Skubick on Growth Business
  For the past three years Intuit QuickBooks, the business accountancy software provider, has staged a two-day QuickBook Connect event in London with thousands of attendees, showcasing the latest advice. Keynote speakers have included Anthony Joshua, Karen Brady and Gary Neville. This March, because of coronavirus, the two-day event was cancelled days from starting and replaced
  
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• London markets rise despite caution over Hong Kong protests

  28-05-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  London’s top flight closed 74.54 points higher at 6,218.79p at the end of trading on Thursday.
  
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• Biggest UK solar plant approved

  28-05-2020 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Climate change: Go-ahead for controversial solar farm - the UK's biggest
  
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• Will coronavirus change America's jobless stigma?

  28-05-2020 18:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In a country where state aid is frowned upon, the number of Americans receiving benefits has skyrocketed.
  
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• Greek carrier Aegean seeks 150 million euros in loans to cope with coronavirus

  28-05-2020 18:29 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlinessaid on Thursday it would ask the country's big banks for 150 million euros of loans under the COVID-19 Enterprise Guarantee Fund, to deal with hardships related to the coronavirus pandemic.Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, said under the programme the state guarantee is set at 80% for loans lasting up to 5 years and for up to 25% of annual turnover.
  
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• Canada's Huawei extradition ruling could unleash more Chinese backlash

  28-05-2020 18:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A Canadian court ruling that could permit the extradition of a senior Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive to the United States leaves Canada vulnerable to further retaliation from Beijing, analysts said.Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on Wednesday lost a challenge to a U.S. bid to extradite her to face bank fraud charges, a decision the Chinese embassy in Ottawa strongly denounced.For Canada, the stakes are high.
  
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• MacBook Pro 13in 2020 review: Apple has 'created something extraordinary'

  28-05-2020 18:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The latest MacBook Pro, just released, means the entire Apple laptop range has now been refreshed with newer processors and, most importantly, the new Magic Keyboard.Apple’s complete range of laptops offer striking design, sumptuous trackpads, excellent performance and gorgeous screens. The MacBook Air was the last to gain a Retina Display in late 2018.
  
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• Post-Covid era looks bleak for galleries and museums

  28-05-2020 18:10
  Directors warn social-distancing rules will weigh heavily on visitor numbers
  
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• SpaceX Nasa launch will likely be cancelled again due to bad weather, official forecast says

  28-05-2020 18:03 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The historic SpaceX and Nasa launch is likely to be "scrubbed" because of weather problems, according to the official forecast.Newly released information for the rescheduled launch – due to happen on Saturday – show that there is a 60 per cent chance the weather will stop it from happening.
  
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