Boris Johnson will today urge MPs to approve England’s new lockdown – but the prime minister is continuing to face a backlash from his own Conservative MPs over the fresh shutdown. Following a 90-minute debate on the new national measures, the House of Commons will on Wednesday afternoon vote on whether to give a second
Boris Johnson has warned of deaths “on a grievous scale” without further action to stem the spread of coronavirus infections. As he opened a House of Commons debate on England’s new lockdown, the prime minister urged MPs to vote in favour of a second national shutdown later on Wednesday. Mr Johnson said he was “not
Primark’s inability to trade online during coronavirus lockdowns has prompted a 40% slump in its parent firm’s annual profits. Associated British Foods (ABF) said enforced closures of the discount fashion retailer’s stores lost it an estimated £2bn in revenue and outweighed increases to its bottom line from its sugar, grocery, agriculture and ingredients divisions in
China has pulled the plug on plans for a record-breaking $34.5bn stock market float by online finance giant Ant Group just two days before it was due to take place. It came after the company’s bosses – including billionaire founder Jack Ma – were summoned to a meeting with regulators. The Shanghai stock exchange cited
The one thing financial markets want from the US presidential election is a clear result. The worst possible outcome would be a contested result, as in 2000, when it took 38 days for the US Supreme Court to confirm George W Bush’s victory over Al Gore. Donald Trump’s frequent hints during the election campaign that
A leading private equity investor is close to clinching a takeover of Hovis that will return the bread-maker to British ownership. Sky News has learnt that Endless is in advanced talks to buy Hovis after a bidding war against Newlat Food, an Italian food producer. Sources said that a deal could be confirmed as soon
The first arrests have been made over alleged fraud linked to the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme, as well as coronavirus bounceback loans. Officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) arrested three men in London on suspicion of cheating the public revenue and fraud by false representation. The men are aged 43, 48
Marks & Spencer has recorded a financial loss for the first time in its 94 years as a public company after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shutter stores. Half-year results to the 26 September showed clothing and home sales were hammered by the closure of non-essential retail during the first COVID-19 lockdown that began
Global stock markets are retreating from recent rallies – with the result of the US election too close to call. Futures had showed New York’s Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices all set to climb sharply at Wednesday’s open – building on gains seen on both Monday and Tuesday – but the gains started
Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 1,070 jobs under a plan to simplify structures in some back office operations. The bank said that the shake-up – the latest in a string of announcements – would affect its group transformation and retail bank teams and result in 730 net jobs lost. That was because the plans
The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) is cutting a further 1,500 jobs through a shake-up of its head office functions to save cash as the coronavirus crisis continues to take a toll on sales. The employee-owned retailer had already shed 1,390 roles in the wake of pandemic disruption this year that saw eight underperforming John Lewis
Global stock markets have rallied sharply as Americans head to the polls – with the likely impact of any result on economic stimulus preoccupying investors. London’s FTSE 100 was 2% higher in early afternoon trading with European markets also ahead, picking up after gains from Wall Street and in Asian trading overnight. There were further
A man known as Russia’s “Sausage King” has been killed with a crossbow in a sauna at his home near Moscow. Intruders broke into the home of Russian meat boss Vladimir Marugov, 54, early on Monday. They tied him and his partner up in the sauna and demanded money before killing him with a crossbow.
Poland’s right-wing government has delayed implementing a high court ruling on further tightening what was already one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, after nationwide protests. On 22 October, the court decided aborting foetuses with congenital defects violates the constitution – only permitting terminations in cases where there is a risk to the woman’s life
A young girl has been pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the Turkish city of Izmir, four days after a strong earthquake hit Turkey and Greece. The girl was seen being taken into an ambulance, wrapped in a thermal blanket, as rescue workers and onlookers clapped and chanted “God is
Afghanistan has marked a day of mourning as the death toll from an attack on Kabul University has risen to at least 35. Gunmen barged into the university on Monday, in what was the second attack on an educational institution in the capital in just over a week. Both have been claimed by Islamic State.