Business news

• Italy to set 2020 GDP target at -9%, deficit/GDP at 10.8% - Treasury

  29-09-2020 23:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Italy forecasts that its economy will contract by 9.0% this year, the Treasury said on Tuesday, while the budget deficit will come in at 10.8% of gross domestic product.The 9% GDP contraction is a downward revision from a target of -8% set in April, while the 10.8% deficit now expected is a reduction from a goal of 11.9% set just last month.The new targets were agreed at a meeting of the ruling parties on Tuesday, the Treasury said in a statement, and will be formalised in the government's Econo
  
  Read more

• Rishi Sunak harking back to ‘worst days of Thatcher’ with economic response to coronavirus, Labour says

  29-09-2020 23:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak's latest economic policies are a throwback "to the worst days of Thatcher," Labour has claimed.Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds highlighted a number of ways she says the Government is failing with plans announced last week in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  
  Read more

• Disney to cut 28,000 US employees due to coronavirus

  29-09-2020 23:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Disney announced Tuesday it will cut 28,000 jobs from its US parks and experiences division, pointing to depressed demand caused by the coronavirus and uncertainty on when it will recover.
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus: Hundreds of thousands of airline jobs at risk, warns industry body

  29-09-2020 23:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A body representing 290 airlines warns it will be 2024 before air traffic reaches pre-pandemic levels.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Market report: Dividend in pipeline lifts Ferguson

  29-09-2020 23:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Plumbing group Ferguson surged yesterday after proposing a reinstated dividend and slightly beating expectations for full-year sales. The group’s revenues dipped 0.9pc to $21.8bn (£17bn) over the year to the end of July, while its profit before tax dipped 4.8pc to $1.26bn. Ferguson said it had maintained “good gross margin and cost control” across the period, proposing restoring its ordinary dividend at the 2018-19 level of 208.2 cents per share. Chief executive Kevin Mur
  
  Read more

• Disney to lay off about 28,000 parks unit employees due to coronavirus hit

  29-09-2020 23:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Walt Disney Cosaid on Tuesday it will lay off roughly 28,000 employees, mostly at its U.S. theme parks, where attendance has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in California where Disneyland remains closed.Disney shut its theme parks around the world when the novel coronavirus began spreading this year.All but Disneyland - nicknamed the Happiest Place on Earth - gradually reopened, though the company was forced to limit the number of visitors to allow for physical distancing.
  
  Read more

• Disney to lay off about 28,000 parks employees due to coronavirus hit

  29-09-2020 23:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Walt Disney Cowill lay off roughly 28,000 U.S. employees in its theme parks division, the company said on Tuesday, as its resorts struggled with limited attendance and the continued closure of California's Disneyland due to the coronavirus pandemic.Disney shut its theme parks around the world when the novel coronavirus began spreading earlier this year.All but Disneyland gradually reopened, though the company was forced to limit the number of visitors to allow for physical distancing.
  
  Read more

• Exclusive: World Bank seeks board approval for $12 billion coronavirus vaccine financing plan

  29-09-2020 22:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  World Bank President David Malpass said on Tuesday he is seeking board approval for a $12 billion coronavirus vaccine financing plan to help poor and developing countries secure a sufficient share of vaccine doses when they become available in the coming months.Malpass told Reuters in an exclusive interview that the initiative, part of $160 billion in coronavirus aid financing pledged by the multilateral lender, is aimed at helping countries procure and distribute vaccines early to health care a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Regeneron says its COVID-19 treatment reduces viral levels, improves symptoms

  29-09-2020 22:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  When asked whether the company would apply for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said it plans to "rapidly" discuss the early trial results with regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Results for the first 275 trial patients showed the greatest effect in patients who had not mounted their own immune response prior to treatment, suggesting that REGN-COV2 could provide a therapeutic substitute for the naturally-occurri
  
  Read more

• US election: Joe Biden releases tax returns hours before first presidential debate with Donald Trump

  29-09-2020 22:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Joe Biden has released his tax returns for 2019 as his campaign called on Donald Trump, who has come under fire for not revealing his, to do the same.Democratic presidential candidate Mr Biden took the step two days after the New York Times reported Mr Trump paid just $750 (£600) in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
  
  Read more

• World Bank announces $12bn plan for poor countries to buy Covid vaccines

  29-09-2020 22:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  World Bank announces $12bn plan for poor countries to buy Covid vaccinesInitiative aims to ensure low-income countries are not frozen out by rich nations* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
  Read more

• UK's Brexit treaty override powers approved by parliament's lower house

  29-09-2020 21:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's House of Commons approved legislation on Tuesday that gives ministers the power to break its divorce deal with the European Union, despite the threat of legal action from Brussels and unrest within the governing Conservative Party.The UK Internal Market Bill, which ministers acknowledge breaks international law, was approved by 340 votes to 256 and now passes to the House of Lords for debate.The bill seeks to protect free trade between Britain's four nations once a Brexit transition pe
  
  Read more

• Lonza confident of 2020 target for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine supply

  29-09-2020 21:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lonzais confident that U.S. and Swiss plants it is building to help make Moderna'sCOVID-19 vaccine candidate will be ready for commercial production this year, executives at the Swiss company said on Tuesday.New production lines at Lonza's site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, aim to start making vaccine ingredients in November, while three lines in Visp, deep in a valley in the Swiss Alps - to supply 300 million vaccine doses annually - should begin delivering by December.There is no approved COVI
  
  Read more

• Burger King prepares to shut some UK restaurants

  29-09-2020 21:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Burger King is preparing to shut some of its UK restaurants as part of a restructuring process triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a goal of opening more drive-through sites. The fast-food giant has enlisted advisers from AlixPartners to review options for one of its subsidiary companies, which directly owns about 25 of the chain's outlets. Options include a company voluntary arrangement or pre-pack administration, Sky News reported. Since 2017, Burger King's main franchisee in the UK has b
  
  Read more

• Burger King eyes closure of 25 stores as Covid crisis hits fast food

  29-09-2020 21:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Burger King is preparing to shut some of its UK restaurants as part of a restructuring process triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a goal of opening more drive-through sites. The fast-food giant has enlisted advisers from AlixPartners to review options for one of its subsidiary companies, which directly owns about 25 of the chain's outlets. Options include a company voluntary arrangement or pre-pack administration, Sky News reported. Since 2017, Burger King's main franchisee in the UK has b
  
  Read more

• Care homes jobs should be on post-Brexit ‘shortage’ list

  29-09-2020 21:14
  Migration body warns of problems recruiting in sector with end of free movement
  
  Read more

• UK records highest daily number of coronavirus cases

  29-09-2020 21:04
  Johnson’s advisers want tougher measures to curb Covid-19, but face opposition from some Tory MPs
  
  Read more

• Suspected ransomware attack disrupts hospital chain

  29-09-2020 21:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A suspected ransomware attack disrupted patient care at a large chain of hospitals and clinics operating in the United States and Britain, the latest in a series of cyberattacks on the health care system in recent months.
  
  Read more

• Water watchdog's defeat turns on cash taps for (some) shareholders

  29-09-2020 20:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Water watchdog's defeat turns on cash taps for (some) shareholdersFour of the 17 firms in England and Wales appealed in vain to the competition regulator over bills
  
  Read more

• B&M steps up expansion after lockdown sales boom

  29-09-2020 20:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  B&M steps up expansion after lockdown sales boomChain plans 45 new stores as it benefits from spending shift to out-of-town retail parks
  
  Read more

• Google to lease extra 70,000 sq ft in UK offices despite remote working

  29-09-2020 20:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google to lease extra 70,000 sq ft in UK offices despite remote workingNew offices will reportedly be near to the under-construction ‘landscraper’ HQ in London’s King’s Cross
  
  Read more

• Spain watchdog determines Amazon needs to heed mail service rules

  29-09-2020 20:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Spanish antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday it had determined that U.S. tech giant Amazonoperates as a mail service in Spain and has to comply with specific rules within one month.The CNMC, as the regulator is known, opened an investigation in February as it sought to find out whether Amazon had to abide by rules on labour, tax, privacy and immigration as other mail services do in Spain.Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
  
  Read more

• Ocado overtakes Tesco as UK's most valuable retailer

  29-09-2020 20:36 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Ocado overtakes Tesco as UK's most valuable retailerDelivery-based supermarket’s value rises to £21.66bn despite selling 1.7% of UK’s groceries
  
  Read more

• Shell sets out steps to make German activities carbon-neutral

  29-09-2020 20:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Royal Dutch Shellhas drawn up plans to make its German operations carbon-neutral as it seeks to cut its own and customers' emissions by more than a third over a decade.The energy company is expected to announce a restructuring by the end of the year as it prepares to accelerate its global shift towards low-carbon operations, having set a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.At its Cologne Rheinland refinery, the oil major is planning to hike production capacity for "green hydrogen" tenfold by 2030
  
  Read more

• GlaxoSmithKline CEO optimistic COVID-19 vaccine widely available in 2021

  29-09-2020 20:32 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, the world's largest maker of vaccines, said she was optimistic the industry will be able to make an immunisation against COVID-19 widely available next year.GSK is contributing adjuvants, efficacy boosters that play a vital role in many vaccines, in several development alliances for potential future vaccines against the novel coronavirus that has claimed more than a million lives globally.Walmsley stressed the industry's unprecedented speed of developing a
  
  Read more

• Italy's Atlantia sticks to its guns in motorway asset row

  29-09-2020 20:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Infrastructure group Atlantiasaid it was open to resuming talks on the sale of its motorway unit Autostrade per l'Italia to Italian state lender CDP, provided the transaction respected market conditions and the rights of its shareholders.The Italian government was ready to revoke Atlantia's motorway concession if it failed to agree on a deal with CDP by Wednesday, a government source said on Sunday.In response, Atlantia said the government could not force it to sell its motorway assets to the st
  
  Read more

• JPMorgan Chase fined $920 mn by US over market manipulation

  29-09-2020 20:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  JPMorgan Chase will pay $920 million to settle US civil and criminal charges over fake trades in precious metals and Treasury futures designed to manipulate the market, US agencies announced Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Fast take: A rise in consumer confidence could boost vote for Trump

  29-09-2020 20:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. consumer confidence rebounded more than expected in September, making its biggest monthly gain in 17 years, driven by perceived improvements in the job market, the Conference Board reported Tuesday..The percentage of households saying jobs are "plentiful" increased to 22.9% from from 21.4%, the Conference Board said, compared with 20% who see jobs as hard to get."It could be good news for Trump – the better people think about the economy, the more they vote for the incumbent," said St
  
  Read more

• Issa brothers face competition hurdle over dozens of garages near Asda stores

  29-09-2020 20:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The billionaire brothers seeking to buy Asda own scores of petrol stations close to its supermarkets, according to new figures likely to spark scrutiny by competition watchdogs. Zuber and Mohsin Issa's company EG Group has 173 forecourts in towns and cities where there is are large Asdas - most of which also have petrol stations. This overlap is likely to be examined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to ensure that the tie-up will not reduce rivalry between petrol suppliers in a way
  
  Read more

• Disney plans 'Lion King' follow-up film with 'Moonlight' director

  29-09-2020 20:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Walt Disney Co is developing a follow-up to its 2019 retelling of "The Lion King" under the direction of Oscar-winning "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins.The original 1994 animated Disney classic tells the coming of age story of a young lion cub named Simba."Helping my sister raise two young boys during the 90s, I grew up with these characters," Jenkins said in a statement on Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• BoE ‘mixed messages’ keep everyone guessing on negative rates

  29-09-2020 19:52
  Latest comments from policymakers have served to confuse rather than clarify on central bank’s intentions
  
  Read more

• Joe Biden releases his tax returns hours before the first presidential debate

  29-09-2020 19:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Joe Biden's tax returns were published on Tuesday, hours before the first presidential debate - in which Donald Trump's failure to pay federal taxes will loom large. Mr Biden, 77, paid nearly $300,000 in federal taxes for 2019. He and his wife, Jill, a teacher, reported receiving $985,233 in adjusted gross income for the year. Until Mr Trump's presidency, it was routine for presidents and candidates to disclose their tax returns annually - but the New York billionaire argued that he was being au
  
  Read more

• Pay by palm: Amazon to scan shoppers' hands to let them pay at its stores

  29-09-2020 19:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Amazon wants to replace fumbling for credit cards, loyalty cards and bank notes at the checkout with a palm scanner that it hopes to sell to other shopping chains. The e-commerce giant said on Tuesday that it was working on a contactless scanner called Amazon One, initially for use in its till-free Amazon Go supermarkets in Seattle, US. Users will associate their payment card or Amazon account with the unique topography of their palm and hover it over the scanning pad to trigger a sale. The comp
  
  Read more

• A welcome boost to adult education in England

  29-09-2020 19:36
  Prime minister’s plan could help to close the skills gap
  
  Read more

• GSK executive wary of human challenge trials for COVID-19 vaccine

  29-09-2020 19:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The British government said last week it was working with partners on the potential for "human challenge" trials, in which volunteers are deliberately infected after receiving an experimental inoculation."Yes, younger people are far less likely to observe a severe disease, but it's a little bit of a lottery.....so I have reservations in the current context," Breuer, the British group's chief medical officer for vaccines, said at the World Vaccines Congress Washington.
  
  Read more

• Ex-Sainsbury's boss takes key NHS Test and Trace job

  29-09-2020 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mike Coupe takes over as director of Covid-19 testing amid heavy criticism of the operation.
  
  Read more

• Amazon One: Palm scanner launched for 'secure' payments

  29-09-2020 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The tech giant launches a palm scanner for secure payments and other biometric checks.
  
  Read more

• Pubs and restaurants urge PM to review 10pm curfew in England

  29-09-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Pubs and restaurants urge PM to review 10pm curfew in EnglandLetter says a review every three weeks would help venues facing the ‘bleakest of winters’ * Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
  Read more

• Pubs and restaurants face 'bleakest of winters', industry chiefs tell PM

  29-09-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Pubs and restaurants face 'bleakest of winters', industry chiefs tell PM. Letter urges No10 to review 10pm curfew every three weeks as sector faces tough months ahead
  
  Read more

• Airbnb pays £1.8m extra UK tax after investigation

  29-09-2020 19:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Airbnb pays £1.8m extra UK tax after investigationHoliday rental giant says it is also cooperating with HMRC over details of hosts’ incomes
  
  Read more

• Hackers release children’s private details after schools refuse to pay ransom

  29-09-2020 19:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Thousands of Nevada pupils’ addresses, grades and social security numbers leaked online in mass doxxing
  
  Read more

• A £56m bill and rising: the cost of Covid consultancy contracts

  29-09-2020 19:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A £56m bill and rising: the cost of Covid consultancy contractsSome of the most lucrative contracts received by firms such as PwC and Deloitte since the pandemic began* Whitehall ‘infantilised’ by reliance on consultants
  
  Read more

• Covid: PM promises 'radical' shake-up of adult education

  29-09-2020 18:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Boris Johnson said funding changes are required to help people find jobs in the post-Covid economy.
  
  Read more

• Emissions crunch drives VW to overhaul its supercar strategy

  29-09-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Volkswagenis reviewing the future of its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.Volkswagen's management board and directors will look at the carmaker's strategy at a meeting in November and are working on a new "to do list" as the company tries to more than double its value to 200 billion euros (182.7 billion pounds), one executive said.The review cou
  
  Read more

• Irish economic downturn likely to be less severe than forecasts - minister

  29-09-2020 18:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The decline in Ireland's economic output in 2020 should be less severe than forecasts released on Tuesday that assume a disorderly exit by Britain from its Brexit transition period, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said in a Twitter post."While (the) decline should be less severe than envisaged, we have still experienced a significant shock," Donohoe said in a post referring to forecasts from his ministry, which estimate Irish gross domestic product will fall 2.5% this year rather than the
  
  Read more

• Irish economic downturn likely to be less severe than earlier forecast - minister

  29-09-2020 18:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The decline in Ireland's economic output in 2020 should be less severe than forecasts released earlier this year, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said in a Twitter post."While (the) decline should be less severe than envisaged, we have still experienced a significant shock," Donohoe said in a tweet, referring to forecasts from his ministry, which estimate Irish gross domestic product will fall 2.5% this year rather than the 10.5% estimated in April.
  
  Read more

• Dior restarts Paris fashion with a hug of comfort clothes

  29-09-2020 18:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Dior swaddled its models in cocooning kaftans Tuesday to protect them from an uncertain world, in the first big fashion show staged in virus-hit Paris in nearly seven months.
  
  Read more

• Negative interest rates/BoE: from zero to hero

  29-09-2020 18:30
  Potential benefits of negative rates should not be dismissed but the timing matters
  
  Read more

• SAA administrators suspend all operations until funding found

  29-09-2020 18:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Administrators in charge of South African Airways (SAA) said on Tuesday that they were suspending all operations and putting the struggling state-owned airline under "care and maintenance" until funding for a restructuring plan was found.SAA entered a local form of bankruptcy protection in December, after almost a decade of financial losses, and its longstanding woes have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.The administrators published a restructuring plan in June, but the government is ye
  
  Read more

• Greggs to cut jobs as high street lays bare Covid financial hit

  29-09-2020 18:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Greggs to cut jobs as high street lays bare Covid financial hit. Bakery chain also negotiating to reduce working hours as other retailers reveal figures
  
  Read more

Follow @Business_UKnews on Twitter!