Business news

• Bayer loses California appeal of Roundup verdict, but damages are reduced

  20-07-2020 23:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The decision by the California Court of Appeal came after a San Francisco jury had in August 2018 awarded $289.2 million to the plaintiff Dewayne Johnson for his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a sum later cut by the trial judge to $78.5 million.Johnson's case is separate from Bayer's agreement on June 24 to pay up to $10.9 billion to settle nearly 100,000 lawsuits in the United States linking glyphosate-based Roundup to cancer.If upheld, the verdict and payout could make it harder for Bayer to resolve
  
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• Chevron to buy Noble for $5 billion in stock, biggest oil deal since price crash

  20-07-2020 23:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chevron Corpsaid on Monday it would buy oil and gas producer Noble Energy Incfor about $5 billion in stock, the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crisis crushed global fuel demand and sent crude prices to historic lows.Chevron, which last year dropped its offer for Anadarko when Occidental Petroleum Corpbid more, has been seen as afinancially disciplined oil major best positioned to strike a deal during the downturn.This purchase boosts its investments in U.S. shale and in natural gas
  
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• IBM earnings beat estimates on cloud strength; shares up 6%

  20-07-2020 22:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  IBM has jettisoned some of its legacy business to focus on cloud computing, an area that has seen a lot of action in recent years as companies ramp up their digital shift to control costs and boost efficiency.Revenue from the cloud business, previously headed by IBM's new boss Arvind Krishna, rose 30% to $6.3 billion.Krishna took over as chief executive officer from Ginni Rometty in April, while appointing former Bank of America Corp'stop technology executive Howard Boville as the new head of IB
  
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• IBM beats estimates; sees gains as customers accelerate shift to cloud

  20-07-2020 22:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  IBM has jettisoned some of its legacy business to focus on the high-margin cloud computing business, an area that has seen a lot of action in recent years as companies ramp up their digital shift to boost efficiency.Revenue from the cloud business, previously headed by Krishna, rose 30% to $6.3 billion in the second quarter.Krishna took over as chief executive officer from Ginni Rometty in April, while appointing former Bank of America Corp'stop technology executive, Howard Boville, as the new h
  
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• Exclusive: Mexico eager to lure firms from Asia under new trade deal

  20-07-2020 22:09 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Mexico has spoken to a host of foreign companies, particularly steelmakers, in an effort to lure business from Asia to capitalize on a new North American trade deal, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Monday.The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) took effect at the beginning of this month and replaced its quarter-century-old predecessor as the coronavirus pandemic wallops the global economy and international trade.The new deal includes tougher content rules both for autos and stee
  
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• Exclusive: Mexico courts companies to lure business from Asia under new trade deal

  20-07-2020 22:09 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Mexico has spoken to a host of foreign companies, particularly steelmakers, in an effort to lure business from Asia to capitalize on a new North American trade deal, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Monday.The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) took effect at the beginning of this month and replaced its quarter-century-old predecessor as the coronavirus pandemic wallops the global economy and international trade."In steel we see the biggest opportunity," Graciela Marquez, a Harv
  
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• Brazil will authorize payments system involving WhatsApp if rules are respected - central bank director

  20-07-2020 22:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Brazil's central bank will authorize a payments system involving Facebook Inc'sWhatsApp messaging service, to send money and make payments via chats, as long as all rules are respected, director Joao Manoel Pinho de Mello said on Monday.The central bank suspended the newly launched WhatsApp payment service last month and said it is analyzing whether the service can operate safely in terms of data protection and competition.
  
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• GlaxoSmithKline makes bold move with £130m Covid-19 investment

  20-07-2020 20:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  GlaxoSmithKline makes bold move with £130m Covid-19 investmentGSK’s share price has been left standing by AstraZeneca’s high-risk success in cancer treatments
  
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• Tory hawks press button on nuclear power battle with China

  20-07-2020 20:40
  After Huawei, energy sector looks set to be next flashpoint in Sino-British relations
  
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• Nuclear set to be next flashpoint in British relations with China

  20-07-2020 20:40
  ‘Golden era’ is over as hawkish Tories focus on controversial deals, including nuclear power
  
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• UK seeing V-shaped recovery, says Bank of England economist

  20-07-2020 20:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK seeing V-shaped recovery, says Bank of England economist. The economy has been growing at around 1% a week since May, Andy Haldane tells MPs
  
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• UK is in a V-shaped recovery, says Bank of England economist

  20-07-2020 20:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK is in a V-shaped recovery, says Bank of England economistAndy Haldane, however, clashes with fellow MPC member Silvana Tenreyo over economy
  
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• UK could face lawsuit over $1bn aid to Mozambique gas project

  20-07-2020 20:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK could face lawsuit over $1bn aid to Mozambique gas projectCampaigners have warned of legal action over decision, accusing government of ‘gross hypocrisy’ on climate crisis
  
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• EU recovery package proposal sees 390 billion euro grants, 360 billion loans

  20-07-2020 20:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Under a proposal submitted to European Union leaders on Monday afternoon, the EU's economic recovery package to lift the bloc out of a COVID-19-induced recession includes 390 billion euros of grants and 360 billion euros of loans, a document showed.This is a change from the 500 billion euros in grants and 250 billion euros in loans, originally proposed by the European Commission.The document, seen by Reuters, is meant as a basis for a compromise agreement after four days of acrimonious talks on
  
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• Hermes to create 10,000 new jobs as delivery business soars

  20-07-2020 20:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Hermes to create 10,000 new jobs as delivery business soars. Firm spends £30m expanding operations as home shopping benefits from lockdown
  
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• Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO frontrunners

  20-07-2020 20:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Kenya's candidate to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) top post said on Monday she is seeking Washington's backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners.Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went "really well" as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business.Delegates
  
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• Continental burns cash in second quarter as sales slump by 40%

  20-07-2020 20:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Continentalsuffered a 40% year-on-year decline in group sales during the second quarter, causing the German automotive supplier to burn cash and forcing it to refrain from providing an outlook for the current business year.Consolidated group sales declined by 39.8% to 6.62 billion euros, the company said on Monday as it reported results early.Operating margin was minus 9.6% and reported free cash flow was a negative 1.78 billion euros.
  
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• Cornoavirus: UK economy has 'clawed back half of lost ground'

  20-07-2020 20:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Bank of England's chief economist says there has been a "V" shaped recovery since depths of lockdown.
  
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• Algeria aims to reform tax system, targets informal market

  20-07-2020 20:06 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Algeria, seeking new funding sources to offset a drop in energy export revenues, will reform its tax system and try to attract money from the informal market, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said on Monday.The North African nation of 45 million people has been under financial pressure due to lower crude oil prices, prompting the government to cut public spending and planned investment projects for this year."Our reforms should be based on the digitalization of all operations to combat tax evasio
  
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• RBS tells majority of staff to work from home until 2021

  20-07-2020 20:04
  Bank opts for ‘cautious approach’ despite government efforts to encourage return to offices
  
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• UK music fans snap up 65,000 cassettes in 2020

  20-07-2020 20:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cassette sales have doubled year on year but still represent a "tiny fraction" of music sales.
  
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• Chevron CEO sees continued 'choppy economic and price activity'

  20-07-2020 19:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chevronsaid on Monday it would buy oil and gas producer Noble Energy Incfor about $5 billion in stock, the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crisis started."The crystal ball is cloudy right now," Mike Wirth said in an interview.
  
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• In Cuba, the old foe's currency makes a comeback

  20-07-2020 19:51 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  State-run stores in Cuba began selling some food and hygiene products in U.S. dollars on Monday as the import-dependent country faces a grave shortage of tradable currency to purchase goods abroad.Cuba last had to open such dollar stores for basic goods in the 1990s when the fall of the Soviet Union plunged the Communist-run island into a deep economic depression.This time it is the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered tourism and hit other revenue earners, worsening an existing liquidity c
  
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• Britain to beef up City watchdog powers over crypto-assets

  20-07-2020 19:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's finance ministry on Monday proposed giving the City's watchdog new powers to regulate crypto assets like bitcoin, and also outlined a crackdown on misleading sales literature bombarding consumers over the internet.Currently any firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can approve any financial promotion from an unauthorised firm, but the system is not working properly, the ministry said."Any firm wishing to approve the financial promotions of unauthorised firms would fi
  
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• Johnny Depp departs court on third week of trial

  20-07-2020 19:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Johnny Depp departs the Royal Courts of Justice on the third week of the actor's libel action against News Group Newspapers.
  
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• Middle Australia earns $100,000 and has a negatively geared property? Not true

  20-07-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Middle Australia earns $100,000 and has a negatively geared property? Not true. The benefits of tax cuts and deductions remain skewed towards higher income earners. It’s a distortion to say otherwise
  
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• More companies join Facebook ad boycott bandwagon

  20-07-2020 19:25 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. coffee chain said it would pause advertising on all social media platforms while it continues discussions internally, with media partners and civil rights organizations.The consumer goods company said it will stop advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the United States for the rest of the year, citing "divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S."The German sportswear giant said it and subsidiary Reebok will pause advertising on Facebook and
  
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• Manufacturers urge government to clarify UK’s new standards regime

  20-07-2020 19:25
  Frustration at lack of guidance on British scheme to replace EU’s CE health, safety and environmental protection mark
  
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• Tesla share rally propels some early fan investors to riches

  20-07-2020 19:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Convinced of Tesla Inc'simminent meteoric rise, Orestis Palampougioukis, a Netherlands-based software developer, took out a 43,000 euro (38,890.6 pounds) loan in early October to invest it all in the electric carmaker, which at the time was trading at around $230 a share.Since then, Palampougioukis' bet has paid off as Tesla's share price has increased more than six-fold, trading around$1,500 on Monday and surpassing every rival to become the world's highest-valued automaker."To me it didn't fee
  
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• AstraZeneca shares hit record high on vaccine hopes

  20-07-2020 19:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Shares in Astrazeneca climbed to a record high as it unveiled a breakthrough in the development of its coronavirus vaccine. Results from the first human trial of the jab, which is being developed with scientists at Oxford University, revealed that it is safe and triggers an immune response that could help patients fight the coronavirus. A study in The Lancet medical journal showed a single dose of the vaccine provoked a response from virus-fighting T-cells within 14 days and an antibody response
  
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• Unemployment surge is biggest threat to recovery, Haldane warns

  20-07-2020 19:06 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Covid-19 could cause higher natural levels of unemployment as a “halcyon period” for job creation comes to an abrupt end, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. Andy Haldane, a member of the Bank’s rate-setting committee, said the level at which unemployment triggers wage pressures may have risen as the virus fallout causes a mismatch between jobs and skills. The risk of a 1980s-style unemployment crisis, particularly among younger workers, was the “singl
  
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• Walmart revives talks about Asda supermarket sale

  20-07-2020 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US giant is talking to possible investors in its UK supermarket, 15 months after Asda's failed Sainsbury's merger.
  
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• SoftBank pulls investment from Credit Suisse funds - sources

  20-07-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  SoftBankhas pulled a more than $500 million investment from Credit Suisse'ssupply chain finance funds after the Swiss bank reviewed the funds including the Japanese conglomerate's role, according to two sources.The Swiss bank launched the review after the Financial Times reported last month that SoftBank had put $500 million into some Credit Suisse funds, which in turn invested in assets selected by SoftBank-backed lender Greensill Capital.
  
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• SoftBank pulls investment from Credit Suisse funds - source

  20-07-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  SoftBankhas pulled an investment from Credit Suisse'ssupply chain finance funds after the Swiss bank reviewed the funds and the Japanese conglomerate's role, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and supported by an investor letter sent by the bank.The Swiss bank launched the review after the Financial Times reported last month that SoftBank had put $500 million into some Credit Suisse funds, which in turn invested in assets selected by SoftBank-backed lender Greensill Capita
  
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• SoftBank pulls Credit Suisse fund investment following review by bank

  20-07-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  SoftBank has pulled a $500 million investment from Credit Suisse'ssupply chain finance funds after the Swiss bank reviewed its relationship with SoftBank-backed lender Greensill Capital, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and supported by an investor letter sent by the bank.In a letter to investors, the Swiss bank on Monday said it would change investment guidelines for its supply chain finance funds after questions were raised over ties with the Japanese conglomerate and
  
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• TikTok fails to shake off authoritarian links to Chinese state

  20-07-2020 18:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  TikTok fails to shake off authoritarian links to Chinese stateVideo-sharing app continues to generate unease over privacy and censorship issues
  
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• RBS tells 50,000 workers not to return to the office until 2021

  20-07-2020 18:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Royal Bank of Scotland has told more than 50,000 staff they will be working from home until next year in a blow to Boris Johnson’s efforts to get employees back to the office. The NatWest owner has told the vast majority of its employees that they will continue to do their jobs remotely until at least the end of December. It had initially hoped to start bringing workers back four months earlier. Its decision will be viewed with concern in Whitehall, after the prime minister said on Friday
  
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• Trader Joe's to change branding after petition calls it 'racist'

  20-07-2020 18:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Trader Joe’s says it will change its ethnic food package labelling after a petition called the supermarket’s brands “Trader Ming’s” and "Trader Jose's” “racist”.As of Monday, the Change.org petition “demanding” the grocery store chain change its food packaging has been signed more than 2,500 times.
  
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• Italy's top administrative court refers Enel competition fine to EU

  20-07-2020 18:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Italy's top administrative court on Monday referred a case over a fine on utility Enelfor alleged abuse of dominant market position to the Court of Justice of the European Union, a court document showed.Italy's competition watchdog last year ordered Enel and two subsidiaries to pay a 93 million euro (84 million pounds) fine, levied on its operations in a part of Italy's power market.
  
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• Bank of England economist: Youth unemployment is top risk for UK economy

  20-07-2020 18:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Unemployment poses the single-biggest threat to a sharp recovery in the UK economy, according to Andy Haldane.
  
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• Insurers should pay UK businesses over 'cataclysmic' pandemic, court hears

  20-07-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Some of the world's biggest insurers are wrong to deny a payout to hundreds of thousands of small British businesses, battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the London High Court was told on Monday.Britain's markets watchdog has taken eight insurers, including Hiscox , RSA , QBEand Zurich , to court.The businesses, from restaurants to leisure groups, said they faced ruin after insurers rejected their attempts to claim millions of pounds collectively in compensation for lost business.
  
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• FTSE 100 closes in red as AstraZeneca rises on vaccine update

  20-07-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  London’s top flight closed 28.78 points lower at 6,261.52p at the end of trading on Monday.
  
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• Air France pilots in draft deal on low-cost domestic flights

  20-07-2020 18:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Air France-KLMhas struck a tentative deal with French pilots to transfer some domestic services to low-cost subsidiary Transavia, as the airline group steps up restructuring in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the main pilots' union said.A draft deal is "on the table" but has yet to be signed subject to approval by members, a spokeswoman for Air France's main SNPL pilots' union said, confirming a report by French daily La Tribune.Air France declined to comment.
  
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• Q Magazine to close after 34 years

  20-07-2020 18:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  "The pandemic did for us," says the editor of the UK's biggest rock magazine.
  
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• Uber faces Supreme Court grilling over driver rights

  20-07-2020 18:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Uber is facing its last chance to overturn two court defeats over driver sick and holiday pay in a battle over the gig economy that has dragged on since 2016. In an employment case starting on Tuesday, Uber’s contracts with its drivers will be put under scrutiny before Britain’s top justices of the Supreme Court. Uber is appealing an employment tribunal decision in 2016, which ruled 35 claimant drivers were entitled to minimum wage, sick pay and holiday while they were using its ride
  
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• Delivery giant to hire 10,500 amid UK online shopping surge

  20-07-2020 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Germany's Hermes says it will invest £100m in the UK after a surge in online shopping during lockdown.
  
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• Former Worldpay boss to lead review of UK's £7bn fintech sector

  20-07-2020 18:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The former chief executive of Worldpay will lead an independent review into Britain’s £7bn fintech sector. Ron Kalifa, who spent over a decade at the helm of the payment processing giant, will run the state-sanctioned study of the industry that employs 60,000 people across the UK. The review aims to evaluate the needs of Britain’s fintechs so that the State can ensure the sector’s “global reputation” was maintained and advanced. The UK's fintech sector is made
  
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• Chevron's $13bn swoop on Noble Energy is first oil deal of the downturn

  20-07-2020 17:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chevron has agreed to buy Noble Energy for $13bn (£10.3bn) in the oil industry's first big deal since the coronavirus crisis sent the pirce of crude plummetting. The tie-up values Houston-based oil and gas producer Noble at about $5bn, excluding an $8bn debt mountain. The deal is expected to broaden Chevron's reach into a valuable drilling region spanning West Texas and New Mexico, known as the Permian Basin. Chevron said it would seek to slash costs by $300m a year following the all-stock
  
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• Chevron's $13bn swoop on Noble Energy is first deal of the downturn

  20-07-2020 17:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chevron has agreed to buy Noble Energy for $13bn in the oil industry's first big deal since the coronavirus struck Europe and the US. It values the Houston-based oil and gas producer at about $5bn excluding its $8bn debt mountain. The deal is thought to broaden Chevron's reach in to the drilling region spanning West Texas and New Mexico, known as the Permian Basin. Chevron said that the all-stock acquisition would generate cost savings of close to $300m a year. Tom Ellacott of energy consultancy
  
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• RBS tells its staff to carry on working from home until next year

  20-07-2020 17:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  RBS tells its staff to carry on working from home until next yearBanking group says it takes safety seriously days after Boris Johnson calls for a return* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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