cityam--2020-05-07--Exit strategy: How and when Boris Johnson will end the UK lockdown

The Prime Minister is set to reveal a “ roadmap ” to end UK lockdown measures on Sunday , but what does the exit strategy look like , and when will measures be eased ?
Last week , Boris Johnson said the UK had “ passed the peak ” and today chairs a Cabinet meeting that will focus on what restrictions can be lifted .
We look at when and how the UK lockdown will end and what the exit strategy means for people , businesses and commuting .
When will the UK lockdown end ?
In April the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to meet efore adjusting the strict lockdown measures .
Read more : Five tests to end UK coronavirus lockdown : Which ones have we met ?
These tests include a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate , and evidence that the rate of infection is falling .
What are the stages to end UK lockdown ?
It is understood that the UK lockdown will end in stages , as in Europe .
That should help avoid the risk of a second wave which could overwhelm the NHS .
A draft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see the UK lockdown eased between now and October before it comes to an end .
The first restrictions to be lifted are expected to be the opening of non-essential shops .
Then the public may be allowed to socialise in small groups .
The second stage could see large shopping centres reopening and more employees encouraged to return to offices .
However , pubs , gyms , restaurants and hotels face closures for months longer .
They are set to be among the last to reopen .
And the easing of restrictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transmission is below one .
That would mean coronavirus is no longer rapidly increasing .
What restrictions could end next week ?
Johnson is reportedly expected to amend the “ stay home ” slogan in Sunday ’ s address to the nation in a sign that he will loosen some restrictions from next week .
And at Prime Minister ’ s Questions he suggested some measures could start being eased from Monday .
A spokesperson for the PM said earlier today that Johnson would use “ maximum caution ” and any changes will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sturgeon confirmed that lockdown would continue in Scotland , saying any easing would be “ very , very risky ” at this stage .
When will employees return to work ?
The PM is likely to push for employees to return to work once it is safe to do so .
The business department has already drawn up documents to help businesses prepare for employees returning to offices .
Companies will have to limit hot desking and introduce protective screens , according to draft government proposals .
Read more : Government outlines workplace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many UK companies have been forced to shut since lockdown began on 23 March .
But it is unlikely that they will be able to resume operations as before .
Ministers will push companies to maximise home-working where possible , and stagger shift times to keep staff two metres apart .
Bosses most also use floor tape to set out spacing if necessary .
Protective screens and equipment will be used where keeping a distance is not possible .
Employers with more than five staff must draw up a coronavirus risk assessment before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And it is unclear how many staff will return to offices immediately .
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said a 100 per cent Tube service could only serve 20 per cent of commuters to maintain social distancing .
Read more : Sadiq Khan unveils plans to transform roads for walkers and cyclists post-lockdown When will UK schools reopen after lockdown ends ?
While countries in Europe have set out a route to getting children back to school , there is little understanding of when this might happen .
Reports suggest the PM is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 1 June .
However , health secretary Matt Hancock warned that schools may not reopen until September .
Dominic Raab also said it would not be safe to reopen all schools in England , after the Scottish government said schools in Scotland could not open for now .
A report by the Scottish government said a full reopening could cause a second wave of infection that would overwhelm the health service .
When schools do open , measures could include limiting class sizes , staggering break times , and groups of pupils @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany .
Read more : Germany to reopen shops and restart football in lockdown easing plan When will shops reopen under UK exit strategy ?
The government is expected to issue guidance on how non-essential shops can reopen safely .
The British Retail Consortium ( BRC ) has said changing rooms could be closed and customers encouraged to shop alone .
All non-essential shops were ordered to shut when the UK went into lockdown in March .
Those included hairdressers and clothing shops and non-food and pharmacy shops .
Last month B & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reopened 75 of its stores after drawing up plans to safeguard customers and staff .
Read more : UK lockdown : Shoppers spend more on booze , beauty and crafts It is likely that non-essential shops will have to follow similar measures put in place in supermarkets , such as a limit to customers in stores and two-metre markers .
Shops will also be expected to consider providing hand sanitiser at entry and exit points , and move to cashless payments to limit contact .
Unfortunately there are no plans for pubs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any time soon under the UK exit strategy .
Read more : Robot waiters , half the tables , and crossed fingers : How restaurants will reopen after UK lockdown ends Draft government guidance seen by the BBC said bar areas and seated areas in restaurants and cafes must remain closed even when the economy reopens .
As in Europe , they will likely be the last to reopen .
And even then they will look incredibly different .
Martin Williams , chief executive of M Restaurants and Gaucho , told City A.M. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiters and conveyor belts to serve meals .
Takeaway services have been allowed to remain open but companies must ensure two metres between customers and staff .
And the number of people allowed in shops has also been limited to ensure sufficient space .
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said the pub chain is hoping to open pubs “ in or around June ” but has given little detail on how this could happen .
Measures on reopening will likely include a limit on customer numbers , shortened opening hours and restricted menus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the PM will want to avoid public transport becoming a hotbed of infection .
Public transport capacity and usage has been reduced , with TfL operating a reduced service .
Tube journeys are down 95 per cent and bus travel is 85 per cent below normal levels .
Writing for City A.M. , mayor of London Sadiq Khan said there would be “ no swift return to normality for TfL ” .
He said : “ It ’ s an inescapable fact that no mass transport system of the scale we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while maintaining social distancing at all times.
” Social distancing measures mean the Tube will only be able to carry 13 to 20 per cent of previous passengers .
Part of the government ’ s measures will include staggering working hours to stop rush hour crowding .
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said once the UK lockdown ends , more buses and trains will run .
But he added he hoped people would take up cycling and walking .
Earlier this week defence secretary Ben Wallace said wearing face masks on public transport would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go back to work .
He confirmed the government had begun stockpiling masks .

Exit strategy: How and when Boris Johnson will end the UK lockdown
Exit strategy: How and when Boris Johnson will end the UK lockdown
The Prime Minister is set to reveal a “roadmap” to end UK lockdown measures on Sunday, but what does the exit strategy look like, and when will measures be eased?
Last week, Boris Johnson said the UK had “passed the peak” and today chairs a Cabinet meeting that will focus on what restrictions can be lifted.
We look at when and how the UK lockdown will end and what the exit strategy means for people, businesses and commuting.
When will the UK lockdown end?
In April the government set out five tests the UK had to meet efore adjusting the strict lockdown measures.
These tests include a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate, and evidence that the rate of infection is falling.
What are the stages to end UK lockdown?
It is understood that the UK lockdown will end in stages, as in Europe. That should help avoid the risk of a second wave which could overwhelm the NHS.
A draft 50-page document ministers have drawn up would see the UK lockdown eased between now and October before it comes to an end.
The first restrictions to be lifted are expected to be the opening of non-essential shops. Then the public may be allowed to socialise in small groups.
The second stage could see large shopping centres reopening and more employees encouraged to return to offices.
However, pubs, gyms, restaurants and hotels face closures for months longer. They are set to be among the last to reopen.
And the easing of restrictions can only begin when the rate of transmission is below one. That would mean coronavirus is no longer rapidly increasing.
What restrictions could end next week?
Johnson is reportedly expected to amend the “stay home” slogan in Sunday’s address to the nation in a sign that he will loosen some restrictions from next week. And at Prime Minister’s Questions he suggested some measures could start being eased from Monday.
A spokesperson for the PM said earlier today that Johnson would use “maximum caution” and any changes will be “very limited”.
Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that lockdown would continue in Scotland, saying any easing would be “very, very risky” at this stage.
When will employees return to work?
The UK exit strategy will eventually see workers encouraged to return to their offices
The PM is likely to push for employees to return to work once it is safe to do so. The business department has already drawn up documents to help businesses prepare for employees returning to offices.
Companies will have to limit hot desking and introduce protective screens, according to draft government proposals.
Many UK companies have been forced to shut since lockdown began on 23 March. But it is unlikely that they will be able to resume operations as before.
Ministers will push companies to maximise home-working where possible, and stagger shift times to keep staff two metres apart.
Bosses most also use floor tape to set out spacing if necessary. Protective screens and equipment will be used where keeping a distance is not possible.
Employers with more than five staff must draw up a coronavirus risk assessment before allowing staff back in the office.
And it is unclear how many staff will return to offices immediately. London mayor Sadiq Khan has said a 100 per cent Tube service could only serve 20 per cent of commuters to maintain social distancing.
When will UK schools reopen after lockdown ends?
While countries in Europe have set out a route to getting children back to school, there is little understanding of when this might happen.
Reports suggest the PM is hoping to reopen primary schools in England on 1 June.
However, health secretary Matt Hancock warned that schools may not reopen until September. Dominic Raab also said it would not be safe to reopen all schools in England, after the Scottish government said schools in Scotland could not open for now.
A report by the Scottish government said a full reopening could cause a second wave of infection that would overwhelm the health service.
When schools do open, measures could include limiting class sizes, staggering break times, and groups of pupils attending on different days, as in Germany.
When will shops reopen under UK exit strategy?
The government is expected to issue guidance on how non-essential shops can reopen safely. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said changing rooms could be closed and customers encouraged to shop alone.
All non-essential shops were ordered to shut when the UK went into lockdown in March. Those included hairdressers and clothing shops and non-food and pharmacy shops. Last month B&Q, deemed an essential retailer, reopened 75 of its stores after drawing up plans to safeguard customers and staff.
It is likely that non-essential shops will have to follow similar measures put in place in supermarkets, such as a limit to customers in stores and two-metre markers.
Shops will also be expected to consider providing hand sanitiser at entry and exit points, and move to cashless payments to limit contact.
Pubs, bars, and restaurants to stay closed
UK restaurants like Leon may be among the last places to reopen after the UK lockdown ends
Unfortunately there are no plans for pubs, restaurants and bars to re-open to diners any time soon under the UK exit strategy.
Draft government guidance seen by the BBC said bar areas and seated areas in restaurants and cafes must remain closed even when the economy reopens.
As in Europe, they will likely be the last to reopen. And even then they will look incredibly different.
Martin Williams, chief executive of M Restaurants and Gaucho, told City A.M. he is exploring the option of robot waiters and conveyor belts to serve meals.
Takeaway services have been allowed to remain open but companies must ensure two metres between customers and staff. And the number of people allowed in shops has also been limited to ensure sufficient space.
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said the pub chain is hoping to open pubs “in or around June” but has given little detail on how this could happen.
Measures on reopening will likely include a limit on customer numbers, shortened opening hours and restricted menus.
Public transport
Police and National Rail Staff are seen at an empty Waterloo Station amid the UK lockdown in late March
As people begin to return to work, the PM will want to avoid public transport becoming a hotbed of infection.
Public transport capacity and usage has been reduced, with TfL operating a reduced service. Tube journeys are down 95 per cent and bus travel is 85 per cent below normal levels.
Writing for City A.M., mayor of London Sadiq Khan said there would be “no swift return to normality for TfL”.
He said: “It’s an inescapable fact that no mass transport system of the scale we have in London can operate at full capacity while maintaining social distancing at all times.”
Social distancing measures mean the Tube will only be able to carry 13 to 20 per cent of previous passengers.
Part of the government’s measures will include staggering working hours to stop rush hour crowding.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said once the UK lockdown ends, more buses and trains will run. But he added he hoped people would take up cycling and walking.
Earlier this week defence secretary Ben Wallace said wearing face masks on public transport would make people “feel able” to go back to work. He confirmed the government had begun stockpiling masks.


cityam--2020-05-07--The Long Read: Sir Martin Sorrell on advertising, coronavirus and the new media landscape

Sir Martin Sorrell has bestrode the ad world for decades – and in the midst of a global pandemic that has hit the industry hard , he ’ s understandably got some thinking to do .
finito ‘ s Christopher Jackson spoke to the ad mogul , and his interview for finitoworld – the organisation ’ s online magazine – is republished here .
Prior to coronavirus , one would have said that Sir Martin Sorrell is a difficult man to imagine confined to his house .
With the new normal of global pandemic , we do not have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quite the levelling experience one might imagine .
True , instead of visiting the 75-year-old ’ s offices in Mayfair , whose shine and power I am now left to imagine , Sorrell logs on from his central London house .
But his energy – which seems part Napoleonic , part East End smarts – is not a thing to be dissipated on a Zoom call .
‘ You look about three years old , ’ he says , first up , laughing with typical bonhomie .
Sorrell has been in Covid-19 quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last few weeks .
‘ The house is okay .
There ’ s a bit of outside space which makes it tolerable , ’ he says .
Sat in my two-bed flat in Camberwell , his house seems somewhat better than okay .
Under a wall of cartoons ( ‘ You can ’ t see the half of them ’ ) Sorrell will oversee the work of S4 Capital , the digitally focused firm he founded straight after leaving WPP in 2018 , during the indefinite season of lockdown .
For Sorrell , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another problem that requires solving .
He ’ s seen plenty of these since the early days of Saatchi & Saatchi , through the years of expansion of WPP , taking in the global financial crisis and numerous other shocks along the way .
His bearing is that of a man likely to prosper in this , as in any other era .
‘ I actually find I ’ m doing more work , as there are no interruptions , ’ he explains .
‘ No breakfasts ; no dinners ; no surplus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m more effective and certainly learning more.
’ For some , the idea of a more effective Martin Sorrell will be a fearsome notion .
Perhaps one such group might be the leadership team at WPP , which Sorrell left under acrimonious circumstances in 2018 .
It was obviously an unhappy time , leaving the company he had built from scratch .
What is perhaps more noteworthy is the swiftness with which he has moved on to the next thing .
During our conversation , he refers occasionally to his time at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a point of reference regarding what he ’ s doing now at S4 Capital .
And he does so far less frequently than he looks forward .
Sorrell founded S4 Capital in 2018 , with the mission ‘ to create a new era , new media solution…for millennial-driven brands.
’ In typical Sorrell fashion , the business has moved fast , acquiring MediaMonks for $ 350 million in July 2018 ; MightyHive for $ 150 million in December 2018 ; and the Melbourne-based BizTech in June 2019 .
Sorrell ’ s modus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and geographical presence is established .
It seems to work .
The firm recently published its preliminary 2019 results showing revenues up 292 per cent from £54.8m to £215.1m , and gross profit up 361 per cent from £37.2m to £171.3m .
Sorrell can not prevent noting with a certain glee the morning ’ s news : ‘ I see WPP has suspended its dividend this morning .
They were going in the wrong direction before the crisis .
But now they have real uncertainty to hide behind.
’ How does the present @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him feel ?
He pauses a moment .
‘ How does it make me feel ?
I think ‘ sad ’ would be the word.
’ But I don ’ t get the impression that Sorrell ever stays sad for long : he is too pragmatic and tough .
Instead , throughout our conversation , Sorrell ’ s mind whirs about this historical plague moment – how best to navigate it , not just on his own behalf but on behalf of the 2,500 people S4 Capital employs .
‘ If I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and on average three in each family , that makes 7,500 dependents .
At WPP it was 200,000 including associates – so that was 600,000 , and a different scale – but you feel responsible for that.
’ For years now , Sorrell ’ s mantra has been digitisation .
You might say that in his mid-seventies he is an unlikely evangelist for the great tech firms both in the US and China – but then , like Oscar Wilde , Sorrell has never pretended to be ordinary .
And it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him during these coronavirus times .
‘ The technology is very good , ’ he says , bullishly , having been particularly impressed by an online seminar he participated in post-lockdown with Harvard Business School .
Sorrell was swift to implement their recommendations .
‘ We instituted our crisis group Wednesday last week [ the first week of lockdown ] .
It ’ s very brief but it meets across the business .
Every day we cover San Francisco to Sydney .
It might have been more in the beginning but now it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : UK economy : Is the Bank of England ’ s 2021 rebound scenario too optimistic ?
Regarding the immediate economic future , Sorrell already has a clear sense of how the virus will play out : ‘ I ’ m of the V-shaped school .
You feel it in the markets already .
It ’ s terrible , it ’ s shocking , it ’ s catatonic – a lot of companies will go down .
We were dramatically underprepared.
’ The sentence hangs there as if it might want to turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does : ‘ Q2 will be horrendous , Q3 will be tough but better , and Q4 will be a recovery , ’ he says .
But it is in the nature of these uncertain times to be continually oscillating from hope to worry .
Sorrell is no different , adding : ‘ But a lot of companies will have gone to the wall by then .
In our industry , a lot of highly-regarded production companies have gone .
B-Reel , for instance – very good work , good people .
Just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be very difficult .
This is a Darwinian culling.
’ I assume this refers to the business environment but it might also refer to the wider health story of which we ’ re all so acutely aware .
A passionate Remainer in what we must now think of as the previous era , Sorrell has long since kept a businessman ’ s critical and bemused eye on politics .
This time around , he has observed with bafflement the zigzagging government strategy .
‘ I do find the government policy a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
‘ Going into this , they knew the head count – if I can put it like that – could be 300,000 .
This wasn ’ t new information .
I think at a certain point Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson changed their minds from an approach which basically entailed culling the herd to create herd immunity , to one of lockdown .
They suddenly reversed their approach ; I ’ m not quite sure why.
’ The CEO is also illuminating on chancellor Rishi Sunak ’ s rescue programmes for businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ Sorrell says .
‘ I spoke to someone who ’ s heading the UK Finance Initiative yesterday : on the loan schemes , you have to give personal guarantees .
I have a friend who ’ s 75 : he ’ s not going to give personal guarantees on a business that could go belly up .
A lot of this stuff will be deployed where it is least needed – to large businesses and not to small businesses.
’ And what about Donald Trump ’ s view that the cure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m not one of those who thinks we should have gone down the herd immunity route .
But when you ’ re in a leadership position , you tend to overegg things .
Boris Johnson overeggs it ; Dominic Cummings overeggs it ; and the media focus magnifies it to such a degree that mistakes are made .
People who lead companies and government departments err on the side of caution.
’ Sorrell adds : ‘ And the enquiries into it will be everlasting and all the civil servants are terrified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigative journalists who will be poring over the entrails .
That makes people overcautious in the wrong way – as it stops them from making decisions when speed and agility is wanted .
You see this in corporations – the lack of agility is huge.
’ Read more : White House to shelve coronavirus task force as Trump targets reopening ‘ It will be an acceleration of what was already there .
Consumers were moving online ; now they ’ re going to move faster.
’ Sorrell gives an example .
‘ Harvard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So now , with Zoom , you ’ re on a screen with me , I ’ m on a screen with you .
Imagine 80 times that with three professors in the pit .
You can email in , you can text in , you can raise your hand technologically.
’ So the virus will make us think differently about gathering together publicly when we don ’ t absolutely have to ?
‘ Before all this happened , you ’ d have to go to Atlanta or New York for a call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did it in an hour and a half without all the concomitant waste , the travel , climate change.
’ Sorrell also expects there to be other profound structural changes to our leisure .
‘ I am on the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) commission , and I ’ ll probably go to Japan next year .
But will I go to the Superbowl to see the Patriots with 100,000 people there ?
Because one thing ’ s for sure , Covid-19 will re-emerge .
We may have a vaccine to deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in the cold weather of Q4 this year which will make the recovery more difficult.
’ Again , our conversation keeps swapping cautious optimism for melancholy pessimism .
Our current condition is to be continually subject to revelations about how the virus will affect some hitherto taken-for-granted aspect of our life .
Sorrell , you feel , has done more thinking than most , but he still has some thinking aloud to do .
‘ This summer , where will people go for holidays ?
Very few people can take private planes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to flying .
‘ There was a newsreel of the Chinese travelling in China .
Everyone ’ s dressed in these spacesuits .
You turn up and you ’ ve got these face masks .
You ’ re assigned a seat before you get on , distanced from everyone else .
Behaviour will change.
’ And the wider media landscape ?
Sorrell is more decided on that one .
‘ It will accelerate media owners ’ use of digital and also accelerate the decline of linear TV .
I was on a call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course , the tech giants will feel the short-term impact on SMEs , but in the long-term it will result in Google and Facebook having a more dominant position .
‘ Imagine the data that Amazon is buying on consumer buying patterns : it will give them a huge data advantage .
The same will be true for Tencent , AliBaba and Tik Tok in the east.
’ This in turn feeds into Sorrell ’ s business model at S4 : ‘ We will benefit as long as we get through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : S4 Capital shares rise as advertising firm shrugs off Covid-19 hit At other times , one has a sense that the reckoning of Covid-19 has created in Sorrell , as in most of us , a desire to pause and reflect .
This sends our conversation – perhaps to our joint relief – away from the present crisis to wider questions of business .
So how to be effective in business ?
First , he says , you have to learn how to manage teams .
‘ Even at small scale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fiefdoms and people looking with blinkers , ’ he explains .
‘ When you have two people in a company , you have a cooperation problem .
To get 2,500 people to think as one , or to leverage whatever knowledge the 2,499 have – that ’ s the game .
If you can get people to share knowledge and insight , you have a much more potent organisation.
’ Sorrell is in full flow now : you have a sense that these are the issues he has turned over in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enjoys sharing his knowledge .
‘ My favourite question to anyone I ’ m talking to is : ‘ What ’ s your biggest problem ?
The answer in most cases is lack of agility.
’ What does he mean by that ?
‘ The siloes , the empires , and the fiefdoms within big organisations ’ .
Sorrell is often known as a legendarily hands-on CEO , and this is sometimes presented as a flaw .
But it might also be an aspect of impatience with barrier and impediment coupled with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its dependants .
Sorrell also recognises that talented people can present problems of their own as much as those who aren ’ t performing .
‘ Good people are by nature not cooperative , ’ he explains .
‘ There are very few good people who work well in teams – and understandably so .
They have good track records , and tend to think they ’ re right and don ’ t take advice easily.
’ The job of a CEO is to get everyone facing in the same direction .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and complex organisations , ’ he explains .
‘ You ’ ve got functional matrix ; geographical matrix ; brand matrix .
It ’ s very difficult.
’ So how to conduct the orchestra ?
One part of the answer is incentivisation .
‘ At S4 , we all own big chunks of the company .
The WPP employee ownership schemes probably amounted to about three or four per cent .
At S4 , we ’ re smaller obviously , but about 50 or 60 per cent of the company is owned by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your money where your mouth is This is an area too , where Sorrell ’ s education – he studied economics at Cambridge – has been helpful to him in his career .
‘ At Cambridge , there was a book by a left-wing economist called Robin Marris – a left-wing economist – called The Theory of Managerial Capitalism .
In the capitalist system , there is a separation between management and control .
Managers manage ; shareholders control – but there is a split between the two .
Out of that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need is share ownership : if people own shares in the company then their mindset is different.
’ Is that his view ?
‘ Well , it can produce too short-term an attitude but broadly I don ’ t disagree with that .
In WPP , in the early days , I always insisted people put their money where their mouth is .
Interestingly , after a couple of plans , the institutions preferred us either to pledge stock we already had or just waived the need to put cash in .
‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s like Warren Buffett ’ s comment on share options many years ago .
You wouldn ’ t give an institution a call on your stock for 10 years at zero cost so why do you give it to management ?
’ How to hire and fire like Sorrell The other way to keep a company in shape is to get the hiring right .
To those who might be ruminating on a magic hire , Sorrell has this warning : “ I used to call it the Jesus Christ syndrome .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the business is no good .
We should get rid of him or her .
And I ’ ve got this fantastic person I want to hire.
” Then the person comes in and three months later , Jesus Christ didn ’ t walk on water !
’ Sorrell also argues that talent departments can get it wrong at both ends of the spectrum .
‘ The hiring process is often too cumbersome or else it ’ s too intuitive , ’ he says .
‘ You either put somebody through 20 interviews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not tolerate , or you have one interview and that person becomes a hero or heroine – a salvation .
Advertising businesses are notoriously bad at hiring .
‘ Individual predilections or preferences overcome what you should or shouldn ’ t do.
’ He adds : ‘ Another problem is to segment human resources and talent from the rest of the organisation .
You shouldn ’ t rely on your head of HR to hire good people .
The head of HR might supplement the list , but you should know who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ x , y or z from your knowledge of your industry.
’ Somewhere in here is the key to Sorrell ’ s success – the need to be hands-on isn ’ t some bizarre need to micromanage but a sort of prudent due diligence , and a tacit acknowledgement of the complexity of the job .
He draws the conclusion : ‘ People are an investment not a cost – and we spend so little time maximising that investment .
Sixty per cent of our net revenues are invested in people .
Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ £250m .
At WPP it was £20bn , so £12bn went on people .
But most people think much more about how we should invest in computers.
’ And this , incidentally , is why government often moves with such little – to deploy one of his favourite words – ‘ agility ’ .
‘ In government , you don ’ t have the commercial levers or incentives : what you get is a splintered mess , ’ he says .
Our time is nearly up .
Towards the end , Sorrell strikes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m sure there will be a relief rally in the sense that when people are released from all this purgatory , there will be excesses .
But I was talking to a client last night and I said , “ I ’ ll call you in Q4 and we ’ ll say we overegged this.
” He continues : ‘ I look at in a historical context .
HIV has killed 36m people .
The two big flus killed 1m to 2m .
I ’ ve got a lot of friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the impact of corona is on the ghettos .
We ’ ve lost proportion .
That sounds callous , every life is important.
’ Such are the times we so suddenly live in : we wish to retain optimism but we have taken a collective decision to endure economic hurt in order to protect the vulnerable .
It is the hardest time the nation has known since World War Two , and yet all our technologies remain intact giving – at least for the time being – an undeniable flavour of technological affluence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still allied in a certain sense to plenty : we are in our homes , but many of us still eat , drink and are entertained to standards which would be the envy of a Renaissance king .
We retain a sense of our intelligence and scientific skill , and the power of the economy which the likes of Sir Martin Sorrell have been instrumental in building .
But we also know all over again the scale of the obstacles – of disease and nature ’ s indifference – which we had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first place .
There are no guarantees of our success ; it ’ s up to us .
Perhaps that ’ s why Sorrell – so self-reliant , and capable – is someone we should especially heed in these times .
We need the likes of him as we have never done before .
‘ Someone sent me a diary from the great plague , ’ he tells me near the end of our call .
‘ It was a world of self-isolation ; there was the Peak District village of Eyam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is nothing new.
’ So nothing new – and everyone keep calm .
Wisdom , like crisis , can often have an antiquated flavour .
And with that , instead of the handshake at the lift , we say our Zoom goodbyes , and Sir Martin disappears out of my computer back into his improbable life .

The Long Read: Sir Martin Sorrell on advertising, coronavirus and the new media landscape
Prior to coronavirus, one would have said that Sir Martin Sorrell is a difficult man to imagine confined to his house. With the new normal of global pandemic, we do not have to imagine.
Sir Martin Sorrell has bestrode the ad world for decades – and in the midst of a global pandemic that has hit the industry hard, he’s understandably got some thinking to do. Christopher Jackson spoke to the ad mogul, and his interview for finitoworld – the organisation’s online magazine – is republished here.
Prior to coronavirus, one would have said that Sir Martin Sorrell is a difficult man to imagine confined to his house. With the new normal of global pandemic, we do not have to imagine.
A Zoom interview is not quite the levelling experience one might imagine. True, instead of visiting the 75-year-old’s offices in Mayfair, whose shine and power I am now left to imagine, Sorrell logs on from his central London house. But his energy – which seems part Napoleonic, part East End smarts – is not a thing to be dissipated on a Zoom call. ‘You look about three years old,’ he says, first up, laughing with typical bonhomie.
Sorrell has been in Covid-19 quarantine like the rest of us for the last few weeks. ‘The house is okay. There’s a bit of outside space which makes it tolerable,’ he says.
Sat in my two-bed flat in Camberwell, his house seems somewhat better than okay. Under a wall of cartoons (‘You can’t see the half of them’) Sorrell will oversee the work of S4 Capital, the digitally focused firm he founded straight after leaving WPP in 2018, during the indefinite season of lockdown.
For Sorrell, the coronavirus situation comes across as just another problem that requires solving. He’s seen plenty of these since the early days of Saatchi & Saatchi, through the years of expansion of WPP, taking in the global financial crisis and numerous other shocks along the way.
His bearing is that of a man likely to prosper in this, as in any other era. ‘I actually find I’m doing more work, as there are no interruptions,’ he explains. ‘No breakfasts; no dinners; no surplus travelling. So, on balance I’m more effective and certainly learning more.’
For some, the idea of a more effective Martin Sorrell will be a fearsome notion. Perhaps one such group might be the leadership team at WPP, which Sorrell left under acrimonious circumstances in 2018.
It was obviously an unhappy time, leaving the company he had built from scratch. What is perhaps more noteworthy is the swiftness with which he has moved on to the next thing.
During our conversation, he refers occasionally to his time at WPP. But he usually does so as a point of reference regarding what he’s doing now at S4 Capital. And he does so far less frequently than he looks forward.
Sorrell founded S4 Capital in 2018, with the mission ‘to create a new era, new media solution…for millennial-driven brands.’
In typical Sorrell fashion, the business has moved fast, acquiring MediaMonks for $350 million in July 2018; MightyHive for $150 million in December 2018; and the Melbourne-based BizTech in June 2019.
Sorrell’s modus operandi favours almost hyperactive expansion until scale and geographical presence is established.
It seems to work. The firm recently published its preliminary 2019 results showing revenues up 292 per cent from £54.8m to £215.1m, and gross profit up 361 per cent from £37.2m to £171.3m.
Sorrell cannot prevent noting with a certain glee the morning’s news: ‘I see WPP has suspended its dividend this morning. They were going in the wrong direction before the crisis. But now they have real uncertainty to hide behind.’
How does the present predicament of the firm he founded make him feel? He pauses a moment. ‘How does it make me feel? I think ‘sad’ would be the word.’
Martin Sorrell’s digital fightback
But I don’t get the impression that Sorrell ever stays sad for long: he is too pragmatic and tough. Instead, throughout our conversation, Sorrell’s mind whirs about this historical plague moment – how best to navigate it, not just on his own behalf but on behalf of the 2,500 people S4 Capital employs.
‘If I’ve got 2,500 people in the business, and on average three in each family, that makes 7,500 dependents. At WPP it was 200,000 including associates – so that was 600,000, and a different scale – but you feel responsible for that.’
For years now, Sorrell’s mantra has been digitisation. You might say that in his mid-seventies he is an unlikely evangelist for the great tech firms both in the US and China – but then, like Oscar Wilde, Sorrell has never pretended to be ordinary.
And it’s the digital world which is impressing him during these coronavirus times. ‘The technology is very good,’ he says, bullishly, having been particularly impressed by an online seminar he participated in post-lockdown with Harvard Business School.
Sorrell was swift to implement their recommendations. ‘We instituted our crisis group Wednesday last week [the first week of lockdown]. It’s very brief but it meets across the business. Every day we cover San Francisco to Sydney. It might have been more in the beginning but now it’s 15 minutes.’
Regarding the immediate economic future, Sorrell already has a clear sense of how the virus will play out: ‘I’m of the V-shaped school. You feel it in the markets already. It’s terrible, it’s shocking, it’s catatonic – a lot of companies will go down. We were dramatically underprepared.’
The sentence hangs there as if it might want to turn into an optimism, as indeed it does: ‘Q2 will be horrendous, Q3 will be tough but better, and Q4 will be a recovery,’ he says.
But it is in the nature of these uncertain times to be continually oscillating from hope to worry. Sorrell is no different, adding: ‘But a lot of companies will have gone to the wall by then. In our industry, a lot of highly-regarded production companies have gone.’
He cites one firm which has been forced to furlough staff. ‘Very good work, good people. Just gone. I think it’s going to be very difficult. This is a Darwinian culling.’
Coronavirus is a ‘Darwinian culling’ of businesses
I assume this refers to the business environment but it might also refer to the wider health story of which we’re all so acutely aware. A passionate Remainer in what we must now think of as the previous era, Sorrell has long since kept a businessman’s critical and bemused eye on politics.
This time around, he has observed with bafflement the zigzagging government strategy. ‘I do find the government policy a little bit strange,’ he explains. ‘Going into this, they knew the head count – if I can put it like that – could be 300,000. This wasn’t new information. I think at a certain point Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson changed their minds from an approach which basically entailed culling the herd to create herd immunity, to one of lockdown. They suddenly reversed their approach; I’m not quite sure why.’
The CEO is also illuminating on chancellor Rishi Sunak’s rescue programmes for businesses. ‘They take time to implement,’ Sorrell says. ‘I spoke to someone who’s heading the UK Finance Initiative yesterday: on the loan schemes, you have to give personal guarantees. I have a friend who’s 75: he’s not going to give personal guarantees on a business that could go belly up. A lot of this stuff will be deployed where it is least needed – to large businesses and not to small businesses.’
And what about Donald Trump’s view that the cure is worse than the disease? ‘I’m not one of those who thinks we should have gone down the herd immunity route. But when you’re in a leadership position, you tend to overegg things. Boris Johnson overeggs it; Dominic Cummings overeggs it; and the media focus magnifies it to such a degree that mistakes are made. People who lead companies and government departments err on the side of caution.’
Sorrell adds: ‘And the enquiries into it will be everlasting and all the civil servants are terrified – and ministers are terrified – of investigative journalists who will be poring over the entrails. That makes people overcautious in the wrong way – as it stops them from making decisions when speed and agility is wanted. You see this in corporations – the lack of agility is huge.’
Covid-19 will accelerate shift to online
‘It will be an acceleration of what was already there. Consumers were moving online; now they’re going to move faster.’ Sorrell gives an example. ‘Harvard Business School has a virtual classroom. So now, with Zoom, you’re on a screen with me, I’m on a screen with you. Imagine 80 times that with three professors in the pit. You can email in, you can text in, you can raise your hand technologically.’
So the virus will make us think differently about gathering together publicly when we don’t absolutely have to? ‘Before all this happened, you’d have to go to Atlanta or New York for a call like the Harvard one. But we did it in an hour and a half without all the concomitant waste, the travel, climate change.’
Sorrell also expects there to be other profound structural changes to our leisure. ‘I am on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission, and I’ll probably go to Japan next year. But will I go to the Superbowl to see the Patriots with 100,000 people there? Because one thing’s for sure, Covid-19 will re-emerge. We may have a vaccine to deal with it – or it may come back in the cold weather of Q4 this year which will make the recovery more difficult.’
Again, our conversation keeps swapping cautious optimism for melancholy pessimism. Our current condition is to be continually subject to revelations about how the virus will affect some hitherto taken-for-granted aspect of our life.
Sorrell, you feel, has done more thinking than most, but he still has some thinking aloud to do. ‘This summer, where will people go for holidays? Very few people can take private planes, and there will be attendant risks to flying.
‘There was a newsreel of the Chinese travelling in China. Everyone’s dressed in these spacesuits. You turn up and you’ve got these face masks. You’re assigned a seat before you get on, distanced from everyone else. Behaviour will change.’
And the wider media landscape? Sorrell is more decided on that one. ‘It will accelerate media owners’ use of digital and also accelerate the decline of linear TV. I was on a call yesterday with a Morgan Stanley analyst. Of course, the tech giants will feel the short-term impact on SMEs, but in the long-term it will result in Google and Facebook having a more dominant position.
‘Imagine the data that Amazon is buying on consumer buying patterns: it will give them a huge data advantage. The same will be true for Tencent, AliBaba and Tik Tok in the east.’ This in turn feeds into Sorrell’s business model at S4: ‘We will benefit as long as we get through the next few quarters’.
Sorrell’s business strategies
At other times, one has a sense that the reckoning of Covid-19 has created in Sorrell, as in most of us, a desire to pause and reflect. This sends our conversation – perhaps to our joint relief – away from the present crisis to wider questions of business.
So how to be effective in business? First, he says, you have to learn how to manage teams. ‘Even at small scale, you have the same issues around siloes and fiefdoms and people looking with blinkers,’ he explains. ‘When you have two people in a company, you have a cooperation problem. To get 2,500 people to think as one, or to leverage whatever knowledge the 2,499 have – that’s the game. If you can get people to share knowledge and insight, you have a much more potent organisation.’
Sorrell is in full flow now: you have a sense that these are the issues he has turned over in his mind for 50 years, and he enjoys sharing his knowledge. ‘My favourite question to anyone I’m talking to is: ‘What’s your biggest problem? The answer in most cases is lack of agility.’
What does he mean by that? ‘The siloes, the empires, and the fiefdoms within big organisations’. Sorrell is often known as a legendarily hands-on CEO, and this is sometimes presented as a flaw.
But it might also be an aspect of impatience with barrier and impediment coupled with a strong sense of responsibility towards the workforce and its dependants.
Sorrell also recognises that talented people can present problems of their own as much as those who aren’t performing. ‘Good people are by nature not cooperative,’ he explains. ‘There are very few good people who work well in teams – and understandably so. They have good track records, and tend to think they’re right and don’t take advice easily.’
The job of a CEO is to get everyone facing in the same direction. ‘Implementation is very difficult in large and complex organisations,’ he explains. ‘You’ve got functional matrix; geographical matrix; brand matrix. It’s very difficult.’
So how to conduct the orchestra? One part of the answer is incentivisation. ‘At S4, we all own big chunks of the company. The WPP employee ownership schemes probably amounted to about three or four per cent. At S4, we’re smaller obviously, but about 50 or 60 per cent of the company is owned by people who work in it.’
Put your money where your mouth is
This is an area too, where Sorrell’s education – he studied economics at Cambridge – has been helpful to him in his career.
‘At Cambridge, there was a book by a left-wing economist called Robin Marris – a left-wing economist – called The Theory of Managerial Capitalism. In the capitalist system, there is a separation between management and control. Managers manage; shareholders control – but there is a split between the two. Out of that, you get the view that all you need is share ownership: if people own shares in the company then their mindset is different.’
Is that his view? ‘Well, it can produce too short-term an attitude but broadly I don’t disagree with that. In WPP, in the early days, I always insisted people put their money where their mouth is. Interestingly, after a couple of plans, the institutions preferred us either to pledge stock we already had or just waived the need to put cash in.
‘That was a terrible mistake. It’s like Warren Buffett’s comment on share options many years ago. You wouldn’t give an institution a call on your stock for 10 years at zero cost so why do you give it to management?’
How to hire and fire like Sorrell
The other way to keep a company in shape is to get the hiring right. To those who might be ruminating on a magic hire, Sorrell has this warning: “I used to call it the Jesus Christ syndrome.
“The person running this area of the business is no good. We should get rid of him or her. And I’ve got this fantastic person I want to hire.” Then the person comes in and three months later, Jesus Christ didn’t walk on water!’
Sorrell also argues that talent departments can get it wrong at both ends of the spectrum. ‘The hiring process is often too cumbersome or else it’s too intuitive,’ he says.
‘You either put somebody through 20 interviews, which anyone who’s good will not tolerate, or you have one interview and that person becomes a hero or heroine – a salvation. Advertising businesses are notoriously bad at hiring.
‘Individual predilections or preferences overcome what you should or shouldn’t do.’ He adds: ‘Another problem is to segment human resources and talent from the rest of the organisation. You shouldn’t rely on your head of HR to hire good people. The head of HR might supplement the list, but you should know who you think would be good to do x, y or z from your knowledge of your industry.’
Somewhere in here is the key to Sorrell’s success – the need to be hands-on isn’t some bizarre need to micromanage but a sort of prudent due diligence, and a tacit acknowledgement of the complexity of the job.
He draws the conclusion: ‘People are an investment not a cost – and we spend so little time maximising that investment. Sixty per cent of our net revenues are invested in people. Our revenues are £400m, and we represent £250m. At WPP it was £20bn, so £12bn went on people. But most people think much more about how we should invest in computers.’
And this, incidentally, is why government often moves with such little – to deploy one of his favourite words – ‘agility’. ‘In government, you don’t have the commercial levers or incentives: what you get is a splintered mess,’ he says.
Reasons to be optimistic
Our time is nearly up. Towards the end, Sorrell strikes another note of cautious optimism: ‘I’m sure there will be a relief rally in the sense that when people are released from all this purgatory, there will be excesses. But I was talking to a client last night and I said, “I’ll call you in Q4 and we’ll say we overegged this.”
He continues: ‘I look at in a historical context. HIV has killed 36m people. The two big flus killed 1m to 2m. I’ve got a lot of friends in Brazil who are terrified about what the impact of corona is on the ghettos. We’ve lost proportion. That sounds callous, every life is important.’
Such are the times we so suddenly live in: we wish to retain optimism but we have taken a collective decision to endure economic hurt in order to protect the vulnerable. It is the hardest time the nation has known since World War Two, and yet all our technologies remain intact giving – at least for the time being – an undeniable flavour of technological affluence even to this unprecedented stricture.
Deprivation is still allied in a certain sense to plenty: we are in our homes, but many of us still eat, drink and are entertained to standards which would be the envy of a Renaissance king. We retain a sense of our intelligence and scientific skill, and the power of the economy which the likes of Sir Martin Sorrell have been instrumental in building. But we also know all over again the scale of the obstacles – of disease and nature’s indifference – which we had to overcome to build it all in the first place. There are no guarantees of our success; it’s up to us.
Perhaps that’s why Sorrell – so self-reliant, and capable – is someone we should especially heed in these times. We need the likes of him as we have never done before. ‘Someone sent me a diary from the great plague,’ he tells me near the end of our call. ‘It was a world of self-isolation; there was the Peak District village of Eyam which cut itself off for a year. This is nothing new.’
So nothing new – and everyone keep calm. Wisdom, like crisis, can often have an antiquated flavour. And with that, instead of the handshake at the lift, we say our Zoom goodbyes, and Sir Martin disappears out of my computer back into his improbable life.
This article originally appeared in finitoworld.


cityam--2020-05-07--Uber leads $170m investment round in scooter startup Lime

Bike and scooter-sharing startup Lime today said it has secured a $ 170m ( £138m ) in a fresh funding round led by Uber .
Google owner Alphabet , its investment arm GV and Bain Capital are also among the backers taking part in the investment round , the company said .
Read more : Uber to cut 3,700 employees as ride-hailing demand slumps due to coronavirus As part of the cash injection , Lime will take control of electric bike-sharing service Jump , which was acquired by Uber in 2018 .
Lime also said it had promoted its global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executive .
The latest funding comes after San Francisco-based Lime secured $ 335m in 2018 from a group of backers including Uber and Alphabet .
Lime ’ s valuation was not disclosed .
The move provided a boost for Uber shares , which were up almost eight per cent in afternoon trading in New York .
It comes at a challenging time for the ride-hailing giant , which is set to publish its first-quarter results after markets close tonight .
But despite the squeeze on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and rival Lyft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set for a boom .
As countries around the world begin to ease their lockdown measures , fears about catching coronavirus from public transport have led to a surge in bike sales and ride-to-work schemes .
Uber yesterday said it will slash 3,700 jobs — largely from its customer support and recruitment teams — in a bid to save cash .
Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will also forgo his salary for the rest of the year amid a slump in demand for Uber ’ s services during the Covid-19 crisis .

Uber leads $170m investment round in scooter startup Lime
Bike and scooter-sharing startup Lime today said it has secured a $170m (£138m) in a fresh funding round led by Uber.
Google owner Alphabet, its investment arm GV and Bain Capital are also among the backers taking part in the investment round, the company said.
As part of the cash injection, Lime will take control of electric bike-sharing service Jump, which was acquired by Uber in 2018.
Lime also said it had promoted its global head of operations Wayne Ting to chief executive.
The latest funding comes after San Francisco-based Lime secured $335m in 2018 from a group of backers including Uber and Alphabet. Lime’s valuation was not disclosed.
The move provided a boost for Uber shares, which were up almost eight per cent in afternoon trading in New York.
It comes at a challenging time for the ride-hailing giant, which is set to publish its first-quarter results after markets close tonight.
But despite the squeeze on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and rival Lyft, bike and scooter-sharing firms may be set for a boom.
As countries around the world begin to ease their lockdown measures, fears about catching coronavirus from public transport have led to a surge in bike sales and ride-to-work schemes.
Uber yesterday said it will slash 3,700 jobs — largely from its customer support and recruitment teams — in a bid to save cash.
Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will also forgo his salary for the rest of the year amid a slump in demand for Uber’s services during the Covid-19 crisis.
Main image credit: Lime


cityam--2020-05-07--Oil prices jump amid signs of rising demand

Oil prices jumped today as a combination of an unexpected rise in Chinese exports and cuts by US producers helped extend a week of gains .
By the mid-afternoon , worldwide standard Brent crude rose a further 5.7 per cent to cement its position above $ 31 .
Read more : Trump hails climbing oil prices as lockdowns begin to lift around world US benchmark West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) leapt 8.9 per cent to $ 26.10 .
After weeks of extreme volatility , oil prices have gained steadily through the first week of May as some countries have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An overall rise in the Chinese exports , which confounded analysts who had been expecting a sharp drop , helped push prices higher .
Meanwhile , in the US a number of states relaxed travel restriction , which saw a heightened demand for gasoline as people took to their cars again .
Although crude stocks rose for a fifthteenth straight week , the 4.6m barrel increase was considerably lower than the 7.8m rise that was expected .
Listen to our daily City View podcast as we chart the economic fallout and business impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , data from independent analysts Rystad Energy showed that at least 616,000 barrels of oil a day will be shut in by US producers in May , rising to 650,000 in June .
The sum is based on guidance from 19 producers , so the full total is probably far higher , analysts said .
Combined with record Opec production cuts , which were set to begin this week , the production curbs have driven prices higher , although supply still significantly outweighs demand .
Oanda ’ s Criag Erlam said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a repeat of the WTI May contract expiry fiasco ” , when oil prices turned negative : “ Production cuts and soft reopenings all over the place are having the desired effects .
Read more : FTSE 100 and US stocks rise despite more dire economic warnings “ Inventory data has done little to deter , with the Energy Information Administration reporting an increase of only 4.6m last week , continuing the downtrend .
“ The market is gradually moving towards balance but it ’ s far from there yet and we shouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .

Oil prices jump amid signs of rising demand
Oil prices jumped today as a combination of an unexpected rise in Chinese exports and cuts by US producers helped extend a week of gains.
By the mid-afternoon, worldwide standard Brent crude rose a further 5.7 per cent to cement its position above $31.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) leapt 8.9 per cent to $26.10.
After weeks of extreme volatility, oil prices have gained steadily through the first week of May as some countries have begun to relax coronavirus lockdown measures.
An overall rise in the Chinese exports, which confounded analysts who had been expecting a sharp drop, helped push prices higher.
Meanwhile, in the US a number of states relaxed travel restriction, which saw a heightened demand for gasoline as people took to their cars again.
Although crude stocks rose for a fifthteenth straight week, the 4.6m barrel increase was considerably lower than the 7.8m rise that was expected.
Listen to our daily City View podcast as we chart the economic fallout and business impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, data from independent analysts Rystad Energy showed that at least 616,000 barrels of oil a day will be shut in by US producers in May, rising to 650,000 in June.
The sum is based on guidance from 19 producers, so the full total is probably far higher, analysts said.
Combined with record Opec production cuts, which were set to begin this week, the production curbs have driven prices higher, although supply still significantly outweighs demand.
Oanda’s Criag Erlam said that the rally was “casting huge doubts over a repeat of the WTI May contract expiry fiasco”, when oil prices turned negative:
“Production cuts and soft reopenings all over the place are having the desired effects.
“Inventory data has done little to deter, with the Energy Information Administration reporting an increase of only 4.6m last week, continuing the downtrend.
“The market is gradually moving towards balance but it’s far from there yet and we shouldn’t count on demand too much”.


cityam--2020-05-07--FTSE 100 and US stocks rise despite more dire economic warnings

US stocks have joined the FTSE 100 in positive territory as investors bet on a relatively speedy economic recovery from coronavirus despite yet more dire economic predictions .
London ’ s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 1.4 per cent at 5,933 points in afternoon trading .
This was despite the Bank of England warning of the worst slump in 300 years .
Read more : Bank of England says economy could shrink 14 per cent but rebound sharply US stocks rose when trading opened on Wall Street .
Investors shrugged off the news that more than 33m Americans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Dow Jones , S & P 500 and Nasdaq were all 1.4 per cent higher in early trading .
Equities also rose in Europe , with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 one per cent higher .
Germany ’ s Dax rose 1.2 per cent and France ’ s Cac index climbed 1.3 per cent .
The rise in stocks came despite the Bank of England today warning that coronavirus could cause the UK economy to shrink 14 per cent in 2020 .
This would be the worst economic slump since the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Spreadex , said the projections are “ rather terrifying ” .
They include a nine per cent unemployment rate , up from under four per cent at the start of the year .
However , investors were cheered by the Bank ’ s prediction of a strong recovery in 2021 after the pandemic has passed .
US equities climbed higher despite the number of new claimants for unemployment insurance rising by 3.2m .
This took the total to more than 33m since lockdowns began .
However , a raft of upbeat corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conglomerate Viacom CBS soared after reporting a jump in streaming subscribers .
Shares in biotechnology firm Moderna also jumped after saying progress on its experimental coronavirus drug was advancing .
The rise in US equities continued a recent trend .
Investors have for weeks shrugged off terrible economic data and looked towards a hoped-for rebound in 2021 .
The S & P 500 is now only around 10 per cent off for 2020 , having risen roughly nine per cent over the last month .
The FTSE 100 was buoyed by the Bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cent recovery in 2021 , analysts said .
Bailey said government support measures will prevent major economic “ scarring ” .
On top of this , sentiment was supported by Bailey ’ s suggestion that said more stimulus bond-buying is very much on the table .
However Neil Wilson , chief market analyst at Markets.com , said the Bank ’ s recovery projections are “ optimistic ” considering the scale of the coronavirus pandemic ’ s fallout .
“ Let ’ s hope the plausible scenario is right , ” Wilson said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t be .
There will be deep and lasting changes to the way people shop , work , travel and simply move around.
” Investors have also found heart in reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reveal a three-stage easing of the lockdown next week .
Read more : UK draws up three-stage plan for easing coronavirus lockdown That could involve outdoor workplaces and small shops reopening first .
Then larger shopping centres and offices could reopen .
Last of all would be restaurants , pubs , gyms and hotels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered the most risky places to go .
Despite gaining in the morning , the pound was trading 0.2 per cent lower against the dollar at $ 1.232 .
The FTSE 100 also benefited from a stronger than expected 3.5 per cent growth in Chinese exports in April .
That helped take the sting out of the tail of the Bank of England ’ s latest economic scenario , analysts said , in signs of a robust economic recovery .
“ Better-than-expected data from China took the markets by surprise , ” Russ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said .
“ [ It ] helped to stabilise earlier declines in parts of Asia and also gave support to the FTSE 100.
” He said China ’ s data is “ leading investors to speculate that the country could quickly recover from the pandemic ” .
Oil prices rose again today , with investors betting on recovering demand .
Brent crude was up six per cent to $ 31.40 per barrel .
US WTI crude was up nine per cent at $ 26.10 per barrel .
“ Mining and oil shares @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that commodities demand could soon improve as China gets back to work , ” Mould added .
Shell was up three per cent while BP had risen one per cent .
Miner Anglo American had jumped almost six per cent .
And BHP was up four per cent .
Read more : BT scraps dividend as Covid-19 and full-fibre rollout hit profit BT suffered badly as it revealed the extent of the coronavirus fallout on its bottom line .
Shares sank over seven per cent after boss Philip Jansen scrapped the telecom giant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the strongest growth on the FTSE 100 early on , and was last up seven per cent after profit grew by double digits .

FTSE 100 and US stocks rise despite more dire economic warnings
US stocks have joined the FTSE 100 in positive territory as investors bet on a relatively speedy economic recovery from coronavirus despite yet more dire economic predictions.
London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 1.4 per cent at 5,933 points in afternoon trading. This was despite the Bank of England warning of the worst slump in 300 years.
Read more: Bank of England says economy could shrink 14 per cent but rebound sharply
US stocks rose when trading opened on Wall Street. Investors shrugged off the news that more than 33m Americans have made jobless claims in around seven weeks. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all 1.4 per cent higher in early trading.
Equities also rose in Europe, with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 one per cent higher. Germany’s Dax rose 1.2 per cent and France’s Cac index climbed 1.3 per cent.
The rise in stocks came despite the Bank of England today warning that coronavirus could cause the UK economy to shrink 14 per cent in 2020. This would be the worst economic slump since the early 1700s.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said the projections are “rather terrifying”. They include a nine per cent unemployment rate, up from under four per cent at the start of the year.
However, investors were cheered by the Bank’s prediction of a strong recovery in 2021 after the pandemic has passed.
US stocks rise as investors digest earnings
US equities climbed higher despite the number of new claimants for unemployment insurance rising by 3.2m. This took the total to more than 33m since lockdowns began.
However, a raft of upbeat corporate earnings reports helped US stocks. Media conglomerate Viacom CBS soared after reporting a jump in streaming subscribers.
Shares in biotechnology firm Moderna also jumped after saying progress on its experimental coronavirus drug was advancing.
The rise in US equities continued a recent trend. Investors have for weeks shrugged off terrible economic data and looked towards a hoped-for rebound in 2021.
The S&P 500 is now only around 10 per cent off for 2020, having risen roughly nine per cent over the last month.
Bank’s 2021 recovery hopes keep stocks green
The FTSE 100 was buoyed by the Bank’s projection of a 15 per cent recovery in 2021, analysts said. Bailey said government support measures will prevent major economic “scarring”.
On top of this, sentiment was supported by Bailey’s suggestion that said more stimulus bond-buying is very much on the table.
However Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said the Bank’s recovery projections are “optimistic” considering the scale of the coronavirus pandemic’s fallout.
“Let’s hope the plausible scenario is right,” Wilson said. “I have a nasty feeling it won’t be. There will be deep and lasting changes to the way people shop, work, travel and simply move around.”
Investors have also found heart in reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reveal a three-stage easing of the lockdown next week.
Read more: UK draws up three-stage plan for easing coronavirus lockdown
That could involve outdoor workplaces and small shops reopening first. Then larger shopping centres and offices could reopen. Last of all would be restaurants, pubs, gyms and hotels, it is reported. They are considered the most risky places to go.
Despite gaining in the morning, the pound was trading 0.2 per cent lower against the dollar at $1.232.
Chinese exports boost FTSE 100 stocks
The FTSE 100 also benefited from a stronger than expected 3.5 per cent growth in Chinese exports in April.
That helped take the sting out of the tail of the Bank of England’s latest economic scenario, analysts said, in signs of a robust economic recovery.
“Better-than-expected data from China took the markets by surprise,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said. “[It] helped to stabilise earlier declines in parts of Asia and also gave support to the FTSE 100.”
He said China’s data is “leading investors to speculate that the country could quickly recover from the pandemic”.
Oil prices rose again today, with investors betting on recovering demand. Brent crude was up six per cent to $31.40 per barrel. US WTI crude was up nine per cent at $26.10 per barrel.
FTSE 100 winners and losers
“Mining and oil shares rallied on the FTSE as investors bet that commodities demand could soon improve as China gets back to work,” Mould added.
Shell was up three per cent while BP had risen one per cent. Miner Anglo American had jumped almost six per cent. And BHP was up four per cent.
Read more: BT scraps dividend as Covid-19 and full-fibre rollout hit profit
BT suffered badly as it revealed the extent of the coronavirus fallout on its bottom line. Shares sank over seven per cent after boss Philip Jansen scrapped the telecom giant’s dividend.
Insurer RSA posted the strongest growth on the FTSE 100 early on, and was last up seven per cent after profit grew by double digits.


cityam--2020-05-08--Nonfarm payrolls: US unemployment soars as 20m Americans lose jobs

More than 20m Americans lost their jobs in April , official “ nonfarm payrolls ” data has shown , as @ @ @ @ @ contain it battered the world ’ s largest economy .
That sent the unemployment rate @ @ @ @ @ , the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today .
Unemployment stood at a 50-year @ @ @ @ @ just two months ago .
“ The changes in these measures reflect the effects of @ @ @ @ @ to contain it , ” the BLS said .
“ Employment fell sharply in all @ @ @ @ @ particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality .
”

Nonfarm payrolls: US unemployment soars as 21m Americans lose jobs
More than 20m Americans lost their jobs in April, official “nonfarm payrolls” data has shown, as the world’s largest economy was battered by coronavirus and the lockdowns put in place to stop it spreading.
The 20.5m job losses sent the unemployment rate soaring to 14.7 per cent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said, by far the worst number seen since the Great Depression. Unemployment stood at a 50-year low of 3.5 per cent just two months ago.
“The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it,” the BLS said.
“Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality.”
The services sector bore the brunt of the pain. In April, employment in leisure and hospitality plummeted by 7.7m or 47 per cent. Almost three-quarters of the decrease occurred in food services and drinking places, the BLS said.
More than 1m jobs were shed in the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry and more than 800,000 were axed from the accommodation sector.
More job losses are set to come. Week-by-week data has shown the number of new jobless claims soaring. Figures yesterday indicated that roughly 33m Americans have claimed unemployment insurance in the last seven weeks.
Today’s BLS data, which covers the month of April, showed by far the steepest job losses since the Second World War.
In the worst month of the financial crisis, around 800,000 Americans lost their jobs. The worst monthly loss on record was close to 2m in 1945 as World War II ended.
The nonfarm payrolls report is the clearest picture yet of the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the US economy. The data is based on surveys of households and businesses and provides the most complete estimate of job losses so far.
Richard Flynn, UK managing director at Charles Schwab, said today’s figures show “jaw-dropping levels of unemployment”.
“While the US Federal Reserve has used its full range of tools to support the US economy, it is clear now that the economic repercussions of this downturn are far greater than anticipated and will be felt long after employees have returned to work.”


cityam--2020-05-08--Sajid Javid: UK should run the economy ‘hot’ and support lenders

Former chancellor Sajid Javid has said the government should “ run the economy hot ” and lift coronavirus restrictions to encourage growth .
He also suggested “ bad banks ” could be created to help the UK ’ s lenders which are set to struggle with bad loans as coronavirus crashes the economy .
Read more : Bank of England : UK economy could suffer biggest crash in 300 years Javid ’ s intervention came after the Bank of England yesterday said the UK economy is heading for its worst crash in 300 years in 2020 .
However , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ middle of next year .
Javid , who stepped down as chancellor in February after a dispute with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over advisers , told Sky News it will be “ challenging ” to achieve such a rebound .
Yet he said “ reopening ” the economy as soon as possible is vital to ensuring rapid growth .
In the most high-profile intervention in favour of a reopening so far , Javid said the country needs “ to think carefully about the impact on the rest of society and the economy ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes to opening up you want to go as far and as quick as you can.
” There is a deep divide over the best course of action , however .
Many , reportedly including the Prime Minister , believe lifting coronavirus lockdown measures too soon could cause a second wave of infections that would devastate the economy .
The former chancellor said the best approach would be “ running the economy hot ” while monitoring the virus .
Javid , who was an executive at Deutsche Bank in the 2000s , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the crisis .
He said they might have to be made to raise more capital to make sure they can keep lending to businesses .
Read more : Banking boss raises prospect of further changes to Coronavirus Business Loan Scheme He also suggested the government “ should dust off ” a financial crisis-era ‘ bad bank ’ policy “ which was never properly implemented in the end because it wasn ’ t needed ” .
“ You have some kind of support for banks with some of the worst-performing loans and try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so that they can in turn help the economy and lend , ” he said .

Sajid Javid: UK should run the economy ‘hot’ and support lenders
Sajid Javid stepped down as chancellor in February
Former chancellor Sajid Javid has said the government should “run the economy hot” and lift coronavirus restrictions to encourage growth.
He also suggested “bad banks” could be created to help the UK’s lenders which are set to struggle with bad loans as coronavirus crashes the economy.
Javid’s intervention came after the Bank of England yesterday said the UK economy is heading for its worst crash in 300 years in 2020. However, the Bank predicted a sharp recovery by the middle of next year.
Javid, who stepped down as chancellor in February after a dispute with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over advisers, told Sky News it will be “challenging” to achieve such a rebound.
Yet he said “reopening” the economy as soon as possible is vital to ensuring rapid growth.
In the most high-profile intervention in favour of a reopening so far, Javid said the country needs “to think carefully about the impact on the rest of society and the economy” of the lockdown.
“When it comes to opening up you want to go as far and as quick as you can.”
There is a deep divide over the best course of action, however. Many, reportedly including the Prime Minister, believe lifting coronavirus lockdown measures too soon could cause a second wave of infections that would devastate the economy.
The former chancellor said the best approach would be “running the economy hot” while monitoring the virus.
Javid, who was an executive at Deutsche Bank in the 2000s, said Britain’s lenders may need support during the crisis.
He said they might have to be made to raise more capital to make sure they can keep lending to businesses.
He also suggested the government “should dust off” a financial crisis-era ‘bad bank’ policy “which was never properly implemented in the end because it wasn’t needed”.
“You have some kind of support for banks with some of the worst-performing loans and try to help the banks in that way, so that they can in turn help the economy and lend,” he said.


cityam--2020-05-08--European stocks lifted by US-China trade talks

European stocks have followed their global counterparts higher after China and the US agreed to work together on the smooth implementation of their trade deal .
With London trading closed for VE Day , the pan-continent Stoxx 600 rose 0.7 per cent .
Germany ’ s Dax was 0.9 per cent higher and France ’ s CAC was up 0.8 per cent .
Read more : FTSE 100 bucks the trend as global stocks fall on US-China tensions US stocks climbed roughly one per cent yesterday after China said its vice premier Liu He had talked by phone to US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steven Mnuchin .
Asian stocks finished higher overnight , too .
Japan ’ s Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.6 per cent and Hong Kong ’ s Hang Seng rose one per cent .
China ’ s CSI 300 gained one per cent .
The “ phase one ” US-China trade deal was struck this year before coronavirus spread rapidly around the world .
China agreed to ramp up purchases of US agricultural products in return for the lifting of tariffs .
However , coronavirus has thrown the deal into doubt .
Not only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China ’ s ability to purchase US goods .
It has also increased tensions between the two countries , with the Trump administration frequently blaming China for the severity of the pandemic .
Investors were spooked last week when US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of more tariffs against China .
Yet they were cheered yesterday and today by news of some progress over the deal .
Liu and Lighthizer and Mnuchin agreed they would work together on achieving the goals of the trade deal this year .
Read more : US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus lockdown Under the deal , China pledged to buy $ 200bn ( £160bn ) more US goods over two years .
But purchases are currently a long way off .
Imports of US goods fell six per cent in the first four months of this year .
Nonetheless , the office of the US trade representative said both sides “ agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency , both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner ” .

US stocks rise on China trade hopes despite dire jobs report
US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with Chinese vice premier Liu He about the two sides’ trade deal
US stocks have risen in early trading despite the worst unemployment report in modern history, as investors take cheer in the US and China’s agreement to work together on the smooth implementation of their trade deal.
The Dow Jones index was 1.5 per cent higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent while the Nasdaq climbed 1.2 per cent.
European stocks have risen after China yesterday said its vice premier Liu He had talked by phone to US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.
With London trading closed for VE Day, the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.8 per cent. Germany’s Dax was 1.2 per cent higher and France’s CAC was up 0.9 per cent.
US stocks also climbed as investors brushed off “nonfarm payrolls” data that showed 21m Americans lost their jobs in April. Unemployment surged to 15 per cent, its highest level since the Great Depression.
Investors were expecting an even worse figure, however. Weekly jobless claims data means the dire unemployment situation was well-known to markets.
“Wall Street did not learn anything new regarding the US labor situation,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at currency firm Oanda. “But one thing seems certain, price action is signaling that the majority of these job losses are expected to be short-lived.”
“Today’s stock market rally is mostly attributed to US-China trade negotiators pledging support for the phase-one trade deal,” Moya said.
US-China deal cooperation lifts US stocks
The “phase one” US-China trade deal was struck this year before coronavirus spread rapidly around the world. China agreed to ramp up purchases of US agricultural products in return for the lifting of tariffs.
However, coronavirus has thrown the deal into doubt. It has deeply damaged global trade and China’s ability to purchase US goods, but it has also increased tensions between the two countries.
Investors were spooked last week when US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of more tariffs against China.
Yet they were cheered yesterday and today by news of some progress over the deal. Liu and Lighthizer and Mnuchin agreed they would work together on achieving the goals of the trade deal this year.
The office of the US trade representative said both sides “agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner”.
The dollar fell as investors bought equities today, slipping 0.2 per cent on an index against other currencies. The euro rose 0.1 per cent to $1.084.


cityam--2020-05-08--Banking boss raises prospect of further changes to Coronavirus Business Loan Scheme

There could be further changes to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme ( CBILS ) as more data emerges on the number of rejected applications , according to the head of the banking industry group , UK Finance .
Stephen Jones , chief executive of UK Finance , said : “ I think as the data gets better we will continue to find where there are issues that are causing good businesses… to fail [ the loan application process ] ” , adding : “ I think there is the potential for further changes.
” Read more : The City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Michael Spencer Jones , former chief financial officer at Santander UK , said his “ biggest concern ” was for businesses that were not profitable in 2019 and so do not qualify for a coronavirus loan under EU state aid rules .
These businesses include many startups that were pre-profit before the pandemic , as well as firms with high levels of debt .
Defined by EU rules as “ undertakings in difficulty ” , they are prevented from receiving state support and so are deemed ineligible for assistance under the current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to our daily City View podcast as we chart the economic fallout and business impact of the coronavirus pandemic .
Appearing on The City View podcast , Jones said he had “ a lot of sympathy ” with calls to reform the regulations .
But he said “ it ’ s up to the government to decide whether they want to go back and renegotiate the terms of the state aid approval that they have , and I don ’ t want to prejudge whether the EU would or would not grant those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a partner at Shearman and Sterling specialising in state aid law , told City A.M. the ‘ undertakings in difficulty ’ rules should never have been applied to the CBILS framework .
And he said that “ if the scheme is not working as intended , the UK can readily amend it ” .
He added : “ Any reasonable amendment notified to the European Commission is very likely to be approved within one to two days.
” At the time , a Treasury spokesman insisted “ it is impossible to take this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] ” .
Jones said that “ as it currently stands those ‘ undertakings in difficulty ’ conditions remain , and businesses that fall foul of those can not currently access CBILS ” .
He said that from next week he ’ d start to get sight of “ richer data ” that would “ allow us to get a better understanding of who ’ s getting through [ the CBILS applications ] , who ’ s not getting through and , if they ’ re not getting through , why not.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ falling foul of the state aid rules were high-growth and startup firms that were “ viable but not profitable ” – and that “ we need to focus on those businesses very carefully.
” The government unveiled a £500m scheme to help with financing for startups hit by the pandemic , known as the Future Fund .
However , its terms have been widely criticised by the startup community , and Jones described it as “ a very small and rather technical intervention , ” adding : “ we need more than just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Why the future of Britain ’ s startups hangs in the balance Jones also expressed concern for the fate of businesses after government support is withdrawn .
“ Businesses are not failing today , ” he said , “ when they will fail is when the job retention scheme is withdrawn and when their markets don ’ t reemerge as strongly as they were hoping ” .
He said “ businesses are in hibernation and they will really find out whether or not they ’ re going to survive when lockdown is relaxed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When will the job retention scheme end and will it be extended ?
He predicted that “ Q3 is absolutely crunch time , ” adding : “ how the job retention scheme is withdrawn will be absolutely critical ” .
In addition to concerns over corporate Britain , Jones also said his industry was preparing for a surge in the number of individuals getting into financial difficulty .
He warned there is a very real prospect of “ 3m people getting into… financial difficulty in the third quarter as payment holidays are withdrawn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ furloughed workers into potentially unemployed workers ” .
“ That ’ s 3m in three months…the [ banking ] sector normally deals with 1.2m people getting into financial difficulty in 12 months .
”

Banking boss raises prospect of further changes to Coronavirus Business Loan Scheme
The coronavirus loan scheme could see further changes to make it easier for small businesses to access CBILS cash, UK FInance boss Stephen Jones tells City A.M.
There could be further changes to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) as more data emerges on the number of rejected applications, according to the head of the banking industry group, UK Finance.
Stephen Jones, chief executive of UK Finance, said: “I think as the data gets better we will continue to find where there are issues that are causing good businesses… to fail [the loan application process]”, adding: “I think there is the potential for further changes.”
Jones, former chief financial officer at Santander UK, said his “biggest concern” was for businesses that were not profitable in 2019 and so do not qualify for a coronavirus loan under EU state aid rules.
These businesses include many startups that were pre-profit before the pandemic, as well as firms with high levels of debt.
Defined by EU rules as “undertakings in difficulty”, they are prevented from receiving state support and so are deemed ineligible for assistance under the current structure of the CBIL scheme.
Listen to our daily City View podcast as we chart the economic fallout and business impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Appearing on The City View podcast, Jones said he had “a lot of sympathy” with calls to reform the regulations.
But he said “it’s up to the government to decide whether they want to go back and renegotiate the terms of the state aid approval that they have, and I don’t want to prejudge whether the EU would or would not grant those terms.”
Last month James Weber, a partner at Shearman and Sterling specialising in state aid law, told City A.M. the ‘undertakings in difficulty’ rules should never have been applied to the CBILS framework.
And he said that “if the scheme is not working as intended, the UK can readily amend it”.
He added: “Any reasonable amendment notified to the European Commission is very likely to be approved within one to two days.”
At the time, a Treasury spokesman insisted “it is impossible to take this condition out [of the CBILS framework]”.
Jones said that “as it currently stands those ‘undertakings in difficulty’ conditions remain, and businesses that fall foul of those cannot currently access CBILS”.
He said that from next week he’d start to get sight of “richer data” that would “allow us to get a better understanding of who’s getting through [the CBILS applications], who’s not getting through and, if they’re not getting through, why not.”
Jones said that many of the businesses falling foul of the state aid rules were high-growth and startup firms that were “viable but not profitable” – and that “we need to focus on those businesses very carefully.”
The government unveiled a £500m scheme to help with financing for startups hit by the pandemic, known as the Future Fund.
However, its terms have been widely criticised by the startup community, and Jones described it as “a very small and rather technical intervention,” adding: “we need more than just the Future Fund.”
Jones also expressed concern for the fate of businesses after government support is withdrawn.
“Businesses are not failing today,” he said, “when they will fail is when the job retention scheme is withdrawn and when their markets don’t reemerge as strongly as they were hoping”.
He said “businesses are in hibernation and they will really find out whether or not they’re going to survive when lockdown is relaxed”.
He predicted that “Q3 is absolutely crunch time,” adding: “how the job retention scheme is withdrawn will be absolutely critical”.
In addition to concerns over corporate Britain, Jones also said his industry was preparing for a surge in the number of individuals getting into financial difficulty.
He warned there is a very real prospect of “3m people getting into… financial difficulty in the third quarter as payment holidays are withdrawn and as the job retention scheme turns furloughed workers into potentially unemployed workers”.
“That’s 3m in three months…the [banking] sector normally deals with 1.2m people getting into financial difficulty in 12 months.”


cityam--2020-05-08--What time is the Queen’s VE Day speech?

What time is the Queen’s VE Day speech?

The Queen will address the nation today for the 75th anniversary of VE Day , although celebrations will be muted with the country in lockdown due to coronavirus .
Despite the pandemic , Royal Air Force jets will fly over the UK ’ s four capitals to mark Victory in Europe day , when Nazi Germany surrendered during World War II .
Read more : HM the Queen : Coronavirus will not overcome us Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also deliver a televised message to the nation to mark the national holiday .
He will also speak to a veteran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Today we must celebrate their achievement , and we remember their sacrifice.
” “ We are a free people because of everything our veterans did – we offer our gratitude , our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge : you will always be remembered.
” For Queen Elizabeth today day holds special significance .
It was 75 years ago that her father George VI addressed the country on the radio as the war in Europe came to a close .
It is rare for the 94-year-old Queen to speak directly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed tens of thousands of Britons she has already addressed the public twice since the pandemic began .
What time is the Queen ’ s VE Day speech ?
Commemorations will begin at 11am , when the Queen ’ s son Prince Charles will lead a two-minute silence .
At around 3pm , extracts from then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill ’ s 1945 victory speech will be aired on BBC One .
“ My dear friends , this is your hour , ” Churchill said on 8 May 1945 .
“ This is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any class .
It ’ s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.
” The Queen ’ s televised address will be aired at 9pm .
It will be shown simultaneously on BBC One and ITV1 .
It will also be streamed on BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub .
The commemorations come ahead of an expected easing of the coronavirus lockdown .
However , the government has warned that only minor changes will be made .
Read more : Any easing of lockdown restrictions will be modest , says Raab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johnson will on Sunday lay out a “ roadmap ” for lifting restrictions .
He added that any changes in the short term will be “ modest , small , incremental ” and closely monitored .

What time is the Queen’s VE Day speech?
The Queen’s VE Day speech will be her third address to the nation since the coronavirus pandemic began
The Queen will address the nation today for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, although celebrations will be muted with the country in lockdown due to coronavirus.
Despite the pandemic, Royal Air Force jets will fly over the UK’s four capitals to mark Victory in Europe day, when Nazi Germany surrendered during World War II.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also deliver a televised message to the nation to mark the national holiday. He will also speak to a veteran on a video call.
Johnson said: “Today we must celebrate their achievement, and we remember their sacrifice.”
“We are a free people because of everything our veterans did – we offer our gratitude, our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge: you will always be remembered.”
For Queen Elizabeth today day holds special significance. It was 75 years ago that her father George VI addressed the country on the radio as the war in Europe came to a close.
It is rare for the 94-year-old Queen to speak directly to the country. Yet as coronavirus has killed tens of thousands of Britons she has already addressed the public twice since the pandemic began.
What time is the Queen’s VE Day speech?
Commemorations will begin at 11am, when the Queen’s son Prince Charles will lead a two-minute silence.
At around 3pm, extracts from then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s 1945 victory speech will be aired on BBC One.
“My dear friends, this is your hour,” Churchill said on 8 May 1945. “This is not a victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.”
The Queen’s televised address will be aired at 9pm. It will be shown simultaneously on BBC One and ITV1. It will also be streamed on BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub.
The commemorations come ahead of an expected easing of the coronavirus lockdown. However, the government has warned that only minor changes will be made.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab confirmed yesterday that Johnson will on Sunday lay out a “roadmap” for lifting restrictions.
He added that any changes in the short term will be “modest, small, incremental” and closely monitored.