7:47 am, May 9, 2020
- Here’s your business, motoring and news round-up for Saturday, May 9
Garden centres will be allowed to open on Wednesday
Garden centres will be allowed to open on Wednesday (May 13) as part of the prime minister’s plan to get the economy moving again – but there is no word yet on car dealerships.
Downing Street has briefed reporters ahead of prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement at 7pm tomorrow on what the plan to ease lockdown restrictions could look like.
The PA news agency was told nursery bosses will have to ensure shoppers obey social distancing measures and will be expected to put restrictions in place, including queuing systems and installing perspex shields to protect till staff. Read the full story here.
Sajid Javid: Economy should open ‘as far and as quick’ as possible
The government should open up the economy ‘as far and as quick’ as possible to recover from the economic impact of coronavirus, former Chancellor Sajid Javid has said.
It follows warnings from the Bank of England that Covid-19 could lead to the economy plunging 14 per cent this year in the worst annual fall since records began.
Mr Javid, who left his post in February, said scientific advice needed to be acted upon, but the best course of action was ‘running the economy hot’.
[Lockdown lifting measures, 59s video]
Saturday could be hottest day of the year
Britain could have its hottest day of the year on Saturday with temperatures predicted to hit 26 degrees C.
Most of the country will bask in warm sunshine while London and the South East will be hotter than Ibiza and St Tropez. But temperatures will plunge by as much as 15 degrees C overnight as a cold weather front moves in from northern parts of Scotland.
Saturday will be bright for most in the UK, hitting highs of up to 23C in northern England, 21C in Northern Ireland, 20C in southern parts of Scotland and 24C in Wales by the afternoon.
Education unions set out key tests for reopening schools
Unions have sent a list of key measures to the government which they say must be met before pupils in England can safely return to their desks.
The statement by teacher unions includes extra money for deep cleaning and personal protective equipment (PPE) and local powers to close schools if clusters of Covid-19 infections break out in a particular area.
Last week, an NHS chief warned the government it should be wary about reopening schools too early as scientists do not fully understand the extent of coronavirus transmission between children.
Second World War veteran, 102, tells PM: We did it for the world
A 102-year-old Second World War veteran told the Prime Minister ‘we did it for the world’ following the two-minute silence held to mark VE Day.
Ernie Horsfall, who celebrated his birthday last week and is one of the oldest surviving servicemen, spoke to Boris Johnson over a Zoom call following yesterday’s 11am commemoration.
Mr Horsfall, who served with the Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (Reme) from 1940 to 1946 as a staff sergeant, said: ‘I was in Naples at the end of the war. It was a big relief. There was no riotous living like being in London.’
[PM’s video call, 1:40 video]
US jobless rate soars to 14.7 per cent
The US unemployment rate hit 14.7 per cent in April – the highest since the Great Depression – as 20.5m jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record.
The losses reflect what has become a severe recession caused by sudden business shutdowns in nearly every industry. Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in a month.
As recently as February, the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5 per cent, and employers had added jobs for a record 113 months, while in March, the unemployment rate was just 4.4 per cent.
Uber loses $2.9bn dollars
Uber lost $2.9bn (£2.3bn) in the first quarter as its overseas investments were hammered by the pandemic. The company is now looking to its growing food delivery business and aggressive cost-cutting to ease the pain.
The ride-hailing giant said it is offloading Jump, its bike and scooter business, to Lime, a company in which it is investing £68m. Jump had been losing about £48m a quarter.
San Francisco-based Uber has said it will cut 3,700 full-time workers, or about 14 per cent of its workforce, as people avoiding contagion either stay indoors or try to limit contact with others.
Virgin Money reverses decision to block customers spending
Virgin Money has reversed a decision to block some customers from making new purchases on their cards, saying that it has listened to feedback and decided it is not the right time.
Earlier this week, it emerged that some customers had received emails saying further spending on their credit cards had been blocked, following a review of accounts.
Virgin Money has declined to comment on how many customers were affected, but reports have put the figure at about 32,000. The bank apologised for any additional worry and inconvenience it may have caused.
Company failures down thanks
The number of UK firms going bust tumbled by a third last month thanks to government life-support measures, but companies may face greater risks as the economy restarts.
A study by KPMG of notices in The Gazette showed 61 companies fell into administration during April, down from 91 a year earlier. It also marks a 55 per cent tumble on the month before, with 135 firms going into administration in March.
The steep drop comes after the government launched its job retention scheme that has seen millions of people furloughed, as well as a raft of loan and finance support schemes.
Lockdown sees Brits eyeing up more expensive cars
Consumers are planning to spend more on their next car than they had been before lockdown, according to new research.
Online car marketplace BuyaCar.co.uk says the average price paid for a vehicle on its site last month dropped to a three-year low of £11,366. However, the average price of a car reserved for future delivery has shot up to almost £16,000.
Site boss Andy Oldham said: ‘Our data suggests there is going to be a surge in spending when the market begins to recover.’
Cars could ‘talk’ to each other to warn of dangers using 5G
Cars could be able to ‘talk’ to each other to warn about dangers on the roads using 5G technology in future, according to researchers.
Experts at Glasgow Caledonian University have said 5G may enable cars to send each other messages about risks such as ice or potholes.
The research group’s work believe the high-speed, low-delay nature of 5G will improve the reliability and capability of automated vehicles to the point where they will be safer than the manual cars being driven today.
Yesterday’s round-up: Lockdown changes small; Rear-drive Lambo; AA profit leaps
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