Business

The UK economy shrank at the fastest pace since the financial crisis in the first quarter of 2020 as coronavirus forced the country into lockdown. The Office for National Statistics said the economy contracted by 2% in the three months to March, following zero growth in the final quarter of 2019, BBC reported.The decline was driven by a record fall ...

Bitcoin has just gone through a much-hyped adjustment that reduced the rate at which new coins are created. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency’s so-called “halving” happens roughly every four years.The digital currency relies on what are known as “miners”, who run software that races to solve complex maths puzzles in return for Bitcoins, BBC reported. Monday’s halving event means that the ...

Indonesia is drawing up a $1.0 billion rescue plan for struggling national airline Garuda after the coronavirus forced the company to ground most of its planes, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Under the plan, some $500 million in Garuda debt would be restructured with another $500 million in new loans to help the airline meet operational needs for the next six ...

 Argentina missed a Friday deadline to reach an agreement with international creditors to restructure its massive debt, but negotiations will continue, its minister for the economy said, AFP reported. The two sides have been deadlocked over Argentina’s $65 billion debt, with the three main bondholder groups rejecting a government restructuring proposal, saying they were unwilling to swallow “disproportionate” losses on ...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced extension of the country Emergency Wage Subsidy programme to help businesses and services retain their employees as the April jobless rate soared to record 13 per cent. In April, the Canadian economy lost nearly two million jobs, on top of the one million jobs lost in March, Statistics Canada reported Friday morning, ...

Facebook and Google have said they will let employees continue working from home for the rest of the year. The tech giants have announced plans to reopen their offices soon but are allowing more home working flexibility, BBC reported. Google originally said it would keep its work from home policy until 1 June, but is extending it for seven more ...

The Bank of England has warned that the UK economy is heading towards its sharpest recession on record. The impact of coronavirus meant the economy would shrink 14% this year, based on the lockdown being relaxed in June. Scenarios drawn up by the Bank to illustrate the economic impact said Covid-19 was “dramatically reducing jobs and incomes in the UK”. ...

Christian Aid and Islamic Relief urge government to recognise role of faith actors in tackling Covid-19 They unite to support health workers and other front-line workers in their efforts, through their international programmes, and by praying for them, with their supporters Show of unity comes during Ramadan and ahead of Christian Aid Week Two leading faith-based British charities are today ...

Uber has announced plans to cut 3,700 full-time staff – about 14% of its workforce – as business plunges following pandemic shutdowns. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will also waive his base salary – set at $1m (£809,690) in 2019 – through to the year end, BBC reported. The announcements come a day ahead of the firm’s quarterly results.Even before the ...

Air fares should fall when flights restart but then rise by at least 50%, warns a global airline industry body. Airlines are keen to get planes back in the skies quickly which could lead to over-capacity, says the International Air Transport Association (Iata). With passenger demand likely to remain low this should put pressure on carriers to reduce the cost ...