Business

Image copyright Getty Images Furniture and fashion chain Laura Ashley has collapsed into administration as the coronavirus outbreak continues to put pressure on retailers. The firm is to close almost half of its 147 UK stores, putting as many as 721 jobs at risk. But 77 shops will remain open as the business tries to […]

Image copyright Getty Images Commuters with rail season tickets will receive a refund if they choose to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak, the government has promised. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it would “ensure no-one is unfairly out of pocket for doing the right thing”. The refund is part of a package of

Image copyright Getty Images The world will take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned. Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general, said the economic shock was already bigger than the financial crisis. He told the BBC it was “wishful thinking” to believe that countries would bounce back

Image copyright Adrienne Murray Image caption The UVD robot takes about 20 minutes to treat a room “Please leave the room, close the door and start a disinfection,” says a voice from the robot. “It says it in Chinese as well now,” Simon Ellison, vice president of UVD Robots, tells me as he demonstrates the

Image copyright Getty Images Global financial markets are set for another turbulent week as more countries take action to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply on Monday, while Wall Street is seen opening sharply lower. Crude oil prices have also slumped as economies around the world come

Image copyright Getty Images McDonald’s will close all 1,270 of its restaurants in the UK by the end of Monday, as fears over the spread of Covid 19 escalate. Previously, the fast food giant had closed its seating areas but had continued to offer takeaway and drive-through services. McDonald’s said it wanted to protect the

Image copyright Getty Images Primark’s 189 UK stores are expected to close Sunday and not reopen Monday, as demand drops due to social-distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Its parent company has temporarily closed shops in Europe and cancelled all future orders from suppliers. Primark boss Paul Marchant said it faces “unprecedented, and frankly unimaginable times”.

Image copyright Getty Images Roughly half the meals we eat are eaten while we are at work or at school. The shutdown of restaurants has seen supermarkets forced to move from operating at 50% of capacity to 130%, according to John Vincent, the founder and chief executive of fast food chain Leon. Supermarkets are having

“Business has been really tough. Customers are not thinking about Mother’s Day, they’re thinking about their groceries at the minute. Flowers are a luxury, and they’d rather give their mum some loo roll!” Ruth Donoghue owns The Flower Shoppe in Lee, south east London. She closed her store on Friday, having only had a handful

Workers at Restoration Hardware were given a letter to show police this week if they were stopped on their way to work in California. The letter, obtained by HuffPost, argues that employees of the upscale furniture company can work despite a statewide shelter-in-place order prompted by the coronavirus outbreak because they are part of “critical