Business

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Crowds have been asked to stay away this cherry blossom season The people of Japan and millions of tourists should now be enjoying the start of the cherry blossom viewing, or hanami, season. It’s an extremely important time of year for the country, both economically and culturally. Traditionally friends and […]

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a wage subsidy package The chancellor is set to announce an employment and wage subsidy package to try to protect millions of jobs. Talks went on into the night with business groups and union leaders, who urged the government to help pay

In many countries, surgical masks are treated as an essential shield against the coronavirus. But that can create shortages for people who need them most, like medical workers. South Korean fashion designer Paul Park has created a line of colourful face masks for young people which he hopes will ease the shortages – and help

GameStop issued a memo to employees Thursday instructing them to keep stores open during the coronavirus pandemic because the company views itself as “essential retail” alongside grocers and pharmacies. Store managers were specifically told to push back on local authorities’ requests to close GameStop locations. “Due to the products we carry that enable and enhance

Image copyright David Lillywhite Image caption David Lillywhite (pictured with wife Leah) fears he will run out of medicine if he doesn’t get back to the UK soon “We can’t go anywhere, we are stuck in our hotel – we are only allowed to go out to get food, money or medication,” says 70-year-old Ffred

Walmart’s new COVID-19 emergency sick leave policy falls short of what’s needed to protect employees and customers, leaving workers afraid they’ll be forced to come to work even if they feel sick, according to a review of internal documents and conversations with staffers across the country.    The company touted its new policy as prioritizing the

An AT&T employee went to work Thursday dreading the task ahead of him: handling strangers’ grubby smartphones all day, wondering if his job had made him a vector for the coronavirus. Workers in the store had been using rubber gloves left behind by the cleaning crew days earlier. There were no caps on how many

Image copyright Getty Images The US central bank has moved to ease global currency strains as concerns about a global recession prompt a surge in demand for the US dollar. The Federal Reserve said on Thursday it had established swap lines to help supply central banks in nine countries with dollars. The countries include Brazil,

As America hunkers down, small businesses around the country are struggling to make ends meet ― although customers have disappeared, bills and wages have not. Just how long they will have to scale back operations due to the coronavirus outbreak — whether it’s weeks or months — is unclear. The federal government is trying to

Image copyright Getty Images The government has been urged to step in immediately to pay firm’s wage bills to prevent mass unemployment. MPs across all parties are warning that small and medium sized businesses are facing a “catastrophic” loss of revenue because of anti-virus measures. The chancellor’s offer of government backed emergency loans was not