Thursday newspaper round-up: Covid-19 rescue loan scheme, UK car production, Monsoon
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 30 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - The government is expanding its Covid-19 rescue loan scheme to cover small businesses on the edge of collapse, a move that Labour warned would come too late for many troubled firms. With less than a week before the furlough scheme covering 9 million employees is cut back, plunging more employers into debt, the Treasury said it would use a change in EU state aid rules to allow firms previously locked out of the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) to access government funds. - Guardian
British negotiators in the trade and security talks with the EU have only started to engage with the most contentious issues "in the last week or two" after pressure from business groups, the European commissioner for trade has said. In an interview with the Guardian, Phil Hogan, who oversees the EU's negotiations, said there had been "a change of attitude" by Downing Street in July as they realised time was running out but that the talks were "not as advanced as we would like". - Guardian
Car production in the UK plunged to a near 70-year low in the first half of 2020, with just 381,357 vehicles rolling off lines at car plants. Factory stoppages and lower demand caused by dealers being forced to shut because of the Covid-19 lockdown, combined with weakening consumer confidence, drove the 48pc decline on the previous year, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). - Telegraph
Unsecured creditors of Monsoon Accessorize are owed more than £132 million after its founder bought it back out of administration in a pre-pack rescue deal. The administrator's proposals, filed at Companies House, show that creditors include landlords, suppliers and local authorities. FRP was appointed administrator to the fashion chain in June after stores were closed because of the pandemic. - The Times
The economy is on track to grow by 5 per cent in July as growth picks up from its lockdown lows, according to analysis of real-time data by Jefferies bank. The investment bank's composite index of several up-to-date activity indicators, from energy use to traffic congestion to online searches, edged up to 58 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels in the past week, from 57 per cent the week before. - The Times
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN