Daily Media Industry Round-Ups

Latest news on the coronavirus from UK media

  • Daily Media Industry Round-Ups

  • Latest news on the coronavirus from UK media

Communications management relies on fast, accurate and relevant information. With our UNICEPTA Coronavirus Daily Industry Media Round-Ups, we will provide you with a sector by sector overview of the Covid-19 outbreak. Receive our daily morning updates to keep on top of the key Coronavirus talking points from the UK Nationals.

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Daily Media
Round-Up

Finance
& Economy

Health
& Pharmaceutical

Retail
& Consumer

Coronavirus – Daily Media Round-Up
by Unicepta
06.04.2020
GOVERNMENT
Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with coronavirus / The Guardian
Prime minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital with the coronavirus after suffering ten days of symptoms including a high fever. Downing Street insisted his committal to an unnamed London hospital last night was purely precautionary.
 
Investment Rees-Mogg firm accused of cashing in on pandemic / The Guardian
Somerset Capital Management, the investment firm founded by Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg and in which he continues to hold a 15% stake, has come under fire for telling clients the coronavirus pandemic offered them the chance to make "super normal reurns". The firm, which manages investments in emerging markets, told clients the dive in stock market valuations brought about by the crisis made "excellent entry points for investors".
 
Medical chief quits after flouting own advice / The Times
Scotland's chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, last night resigned after being warned by police for flouting rules on unnecessary journeys after admitting travelling to her second home at weekends despite ordering people to stay at home to save lives. First minister Nicola Sturgeon had initially said she could remain in her post but no longer brief journalists or appear in public health broadcasts.
 
FINANCE / ECONOMY
Banks postpone plan to increase overdraft rates / The Times
The coronavirus crisis has prompted some of Britain's biggest banks to put the increase in interest rates charged to customers for using their overdrafts on hold. New overdraft rules from the Financial Conduct Authority come into force today, meaning lenders can only charge one single annual interest rate for both arranged and unarranged overdrafts. The rules were designed to make things simpler for households under financial pressure, but banks responded by making increasing the rate for arranged overdrafts rather than reducing that for unarranged ones.
 
BlackRock and Schroders freeze property funds / Financial Times
The total amount locked in UK property funds as a result of the coronavirus outbreak is now close to £17bn after a new wave of funds managed by BlackRock and Schroders have been forced to suspend trading. Property companies such as Knight Frank, CBRE and JLL have said that due to the closure of shops, bars and offices as well as the derailment of almost all commercial property deals, accurate valuation of UK real estate was now impossible.
 
BoE governor rejects money creation tool / Financial Times
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has rejected calls for the central bank to protect and boost the economy during the coronavirus crisis by using monetary financing. Writing in the Financial Times, Bailey said this strategy would "damage credibility on controlling inflation" and result in a central bank balance sheet that was unsustainable.
 
Lockdown to cost £2.4bn a day as economy crashes / The Times
According to a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the coronavirus lockdown will cost the economy £2.4 billion a day, and output at hotels, restaurants, retailers, cleaning services, museums, galleries and manufacturing will more than halve. Consumer confidence has hit its lowest level since the financial crisis.
 
PUBLIC SERVICES
Critical incident declared after hospital oxygen came close to breaking point / The Guardian
A critical incident was declared at Watford General Hospital on Saturday night as its oxygen systems ame close to breaking point due to being inundated with coronavirus patients. Staff had to tell the public not to come to the hospital, and some patients had to be moved out to prevent the vital system failing.
 
UK 'will fall short of ventilators for virus peak' / Daily Mail
Health secretary Matt Hancock last night warned that Britain will not meet its goal of full ventilator capacity by the time the coronavirus breaks, which is expected to happen between a week and ten days from now. He said that while the country was on track to have enough ventilators for 18,000 patients, they may not be in place in time, though he maintained that the estimated total of 11,500 should be enough due to a slowing of the virus due to social distancing.
 
RETAIL
An online queue manager has rapidly become vital in today's 'click and deliver' culture / Financial Times
As the lockdown imposed to deal with the spread of the coronavirus continues and online grocery shopping becomes the norm, Queue-It, the software used by Morrisons, has come into its own. Designed to prevent website crashes by controlling traffic and treat customers fairly, Queue-It was founded in 2010 initially to manage online ticket sales, but now has 750 corporate clients.
 
Big names on high street preparing to close down / The Times
With some of the high street's best-known retailers facing administration and others preparing the permanent closure of swathes of their stores, thousands of jobs are at risk this week. Debenhams and Cath Kidston are set to file for administration, and Arcadia is believed to be considering walking away from some of its 550 stores.
 
AVIATION
Rolls-Royce set to ditch profit goal and halt payout / Financial Times
For the first time since its privatisation in 1987, Rolls-Royce will this week suspend its dividend as well as abandoning targets on profits, cash and deliveries. The company has been hit hard by global measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, with border closures and national lockdowns causing air travel to be all but halted.
 
Stelios steps up row with Easyjet's 'wildly optimistic' directors / The Times
Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has criticised the airline's house broker for its "wildly optimistic" financial forecasts and warned that he will try to oust finance director Andrew Findlay and non-executive director Andreas Bierwirth. The row between Sir Stelios and Easyjet has its roots in a £4.5 billion order with Airbus for 107 new aircraft.
 
TELECOMS
Attacks on phone masts rise over conspiracy theory / The Times
The last 24 hours has seen attacks on twenty phone masts in the UK as false claims that 5G communications technology is linked to the coronavirus outbreak continue to be spread on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden is planning to hold virtual meetings with the social media platforms to address the issue of harmful conspiracy theories.
 
BT staff get bonus as chief hands his salary to charity / The Times
BT is to give shares worth £500 to each of its 100,000 employees and chief executive Philip Jansen is to donate at least six months' salary to the NHS Charities Covid-19 appeal and to small businesses in his community. The share issue is to reward the efforts of key workers who are supporting Britain's networks through the crisis, keeping the nation connected and running vital infrastructure such as 999 call centres.
 
Fake news YouTube to curb content linking 5G with virus / The Guardian
YouTube has said it will reduce the amount of content spreading conspiracy theories about links between 5G technology and the coronavirus that it recommends to users. Four more attacks have been recorded on phone masts in the last 24 hours.
 
SPORT
Footballers say pay cut would hit taxes to NHS / Financial Times
As the row over how to spread the losses to football from suspension of fixtures during the coronavirus pandemic intensifies, the Professional Footballers' Association has said demands to take steep pay cuts would result in £200m less in taxes to the NHS. The PFA has been critical of moves by Premier League clubs to use the government furlough scheme to pay the wages of non-playing staff without agreeing cuts with players.
 
CULTURE
Theatres 'on the brink' Live [...] / The Times
According to a survey of almost 2,000 groups by the Creative Industries Dederation, live music venues and theatres could close within weeks, with one in seven organisations facing liquidation. The survey also found that 42% have lost all their income since the coronavirus lockdown started, and its chief executive called on the government for help.
 
Top News Finance
Banks postpone plan to increase overdraft rates / The Times
The coronavirus crisis has prompted some of Britain's biggest banks to put the increase in interest rates charged to customers for using their overdrafts on hold. New overdraft rules from the Financial Conduct Authority come into force today, meaning lenders can only charge one single annual interest rate for both arranged and unarranged overdrafts. The rules were designed to make things simpler for households under financial pressure, but banks responded by making increasing the rate for arranged overdrafts rather than reducing that for unarranged ones.
 
BlackRock and Schroders freeze property funds / Financial Times
The total amount locked in UK property funds as a result of the coronavirus outbreak is now close to £17bn after a new wave of funds managed by BlackRock and Schroders have been forced to suspend trading. Property companies such as Knight Frank, CBRE and JLL have said that due to the closure of shops, bars and offices as well as the derailment of almost all commercial property deals, accurate valuation of UK real estate was now impossible.
 

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