7:15 am, May 19, 2020
- Here’s your motoring, business and news round-up for Tuesday, May 19
London Mayor calls for quarantine on foreign visitors
Sadiq Khan wants the PM to impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers arriving in the UK as soon as possible in response to fears of arrivals seeding a second wave of Covid-19.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the scheme would come into operation ‘early next month’ and promised details would be set out shortly. He indicated it would be a ‘blanket’ provision applying to all countries.
Khan said: ‘I think it’s really important that anybody coming to our country isolates for at least 14 days. I want them tested as well as soon as they possibly can.’
Ryanair boss slams government’s quarantine plans
Meanwhile those plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers have been branded ‘idiotic’ and ‘unimplementable’ by the chief executive of airline Ryanair.
Michael O’Leary claimed the proposals have ‘no medical or scientific basis’, and instead said face masks would ‘eliminate’ the risk of spreading coronavirus.
Ryanair announced last week that it will operate nearly 1,000 flights per day from July 1 subject to European countries lifting flight restrictions and ‘effective public health measures’ being put in place at airports.
6,000 jobs at risk at Bella Italia group
The future of 6,000 workers is in doubt as Casual Dining Group – the owner of at Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge and Las Iguanas – said a notice of intent to appoint administrators had been filed at the High Court.
The restaurant group said the move will give the firm 10 days breathing space to consider ‘all options’ for restructuring. The firm is working with advisors in an attempt at putting it on a sustainable footing.
A spokeswoman said: ‘These notifications are a prudent measure in light of the company’s position and the wider situation.’
Porsche reveals new 911 Targa models
The latest generation Porsche 911 is now available as an open-roof Targa variant.
The Targa is a convertible model that has a large glass wraparound rear window with a prominent silver roll hoop that’s inspired by the original Targa model from 1965.
The 2020 edition has a removable hard top section that stows automatically behind the front seats in 19 seconds. It will be available as a ‘4’ and ‘4S’ model meaning both have four-wheel-drive, as well as a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre boxer petrol engine.
Markets boosted by lockdowns easing
Stock markets around the world had a boost yesterday after positive economic noises from the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve and a surge in oil prices.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed the day up 248.82 points, or 4.29 per cent, at 6,048.59, dragged up by strong performances by oil majors.
The optimism was boosted by comments from US Fed chair Jerome Powell who said more spending could be coming and the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane said he would not rule out negative interest rates.
Trump taking malaria drug to ‘protect against coronavirus’
Donald Trump has said he is taking a malaria drug to protect against coronavirus, despite warnings from his own government that it should only be administered for Covid-19 in hospital due to potentially fatal side effects.
The president told reporters he has been taking hydroxychloroquine and a zinc supplement daily ‘for about a week and a half now’.
He spent weeks pushing the drug as a potential cure for Covid-19 – against the advice of many of his administration’s top medical professionals.
[Trump on the drug, 47s video]
Lease market sees EV growth
The increasing popularity of electric vehicles in the lease market contributed to a drop in overall leased car emissions.
Although electric vehicles only made up four per cent of all new lease car registrations in Q4 2019, that represented a 750 per cent increase in the number registered year-on-year.
Zero-emission vehicles made the biggest impact on the salary sacrifice business sector, where they made up 24 per cent of registrations. Meanwhile, they represented just over six per cent of business contract hires.
Royal budget faces financial blow
The royal budget could lose millions of pounds in revenue while residences remain closed to tourists during the coronavirus crisis.
The Sun newspaper reports Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel – the most senior official of the royal household – has warned staff that income is expected to fall by a third this year.
All but essential expenditure has been suspended, a recruitment freeze has been implemented and the annual pay review has been paused, he reportedly told staff.
IT experts unconvinced on Covid-19 app
Less than a quarter of IT experts believe the UK’s coronavirus contact tracing app will be effective, according to a survey.
Just under half (45%) said they were undecided about it, while almost a third (32%) believe the tool will not be useful in helping to contain Covid-19.
The app is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight and health secretary Matt Hancock had indicated that a roll-out across the rest of England was on the cards for mid-May, but Downing Street has said the aim is to launch more widely in the ‘coming weeks’.
Car Dealer Live today: Paul Hendy, owner Hendy Group
Yesterday’s round-up: Trains ramp up; Dyson’s canned EV; Dividends tumble; Japan enters recession
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