Business Bites

ROUNDUP: Business rates holiday announced by chancellor Sunak

In his maiden budget, the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a £30bn fiscal stimulus package to help combat the impact of coronavirus on the British economy including a one-year total suspension of business rates for small retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Headline measures include: A £12bn plan to provide…

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Banks to help us all out with coronavirus fallout

Once again the business pages on all major news outlets are pretty much dominated by the developing story of coronavirus – every sector has some kind of tale to tell. So here is the roundup from today. RBS said it will allow mortgage holidays for people who are forced to…

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Flybe’s pensions in doubt; Poorest 20% no better off than before, 1m Virgin customers on unsecured database

Flybe’s pension pot for 1,350 current and former workers is at risk, as the fallout from one of the first casualties of the coronavirus business threat manifests in full. Flybe of course was already embattled before the new Covid-19 virus came along, and was the subject of a controversial bailout…

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Coronavirus is stepping up a gear – this could be serious

When I started this column back in December I did not anticipate a single subject would dominate it so much, but as I wrote last week it would be silly not to address the latest coronavirus circumstances given that each new development so far has had a profound impact on…

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Entrepreneurs relief may be scrapped by Sunak

The new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, may scrap entrepreneur’s relief to raise £3bn a year as a means to bring in some extra dosh for the Treasury. Sunak will undoubtedly be looking for ways to raise extra revenue given the government’s infrastructure spending plans as it seeks to make a visible…

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Coronavirus sends ripples through markets, governments, companies and the public

Apologies for the repetition, but the new coronavirus is causing such a serious global reaction today it would be silly to focus on other things, so here are four key stories about what looks to be developing into a full blown international crisis. The FTSE 100 has lost nearly £200…

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Heathrow’s third runway will not be taking off after all

Heathrow’s third runway has been ruled illegal by the court of appeal, because the government did not properly consider its own climate change pledges in line with the Paris Agreement when drawing up its plans. The court is actually on the same street as our offices here at Mulberry Media…

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Chlorinated chicken ain’t the way

The European Union will insist that the UK retains the current ban on chlorinated chicken as part of any free trade agreement that might be struck by the end of this year. It taps into one of the most symbolic arguments made during the last three years by those who…

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Global stocks react badly to coronavirus update

It looks like efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak have not been entirely successful, and stock markets around the world are now beginning to react more profoundly than before. The FTSE 100 was down almost 3.3% at the time of writing, from 7,403 points to 7,159. For those not familiar…

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Boeing’s tanks fuel new concerns, house prices on the up, Lloyds in the doldrums, hazardous chemicals a pest in poorer countries

Boeing’s faulty plane woes have worsened after ‘foreign object debris’ (FOD) was found in the fuel tanks of two ground 737 Max aircraft – that’s the model that has had two fatal crashes and become the subject of Congressional investigation in the United States. The manufacturer had to ground the…

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