Business

Image copyright Penlon A medical devices maker has cast doubt on using non-specialist manufacturers to produce more ventilators. Craig Thompson, head of products at Oxfordshire company Penlon, said the idea that other firms could switch production was unrealistic. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged engineering firms, including carmakers, to explore if they could make the […]

Image copyright AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Vauxhall’s parent company will shut all of its European manufacturing plants due to fears over the coronavirus. PSA Group said plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton will close this week and will remain shut until at least 27 March. In a statement, the firm said it had seen a

Image copyright Getty Images France’s competition authority has imposed a record €1.1bn (£1bn; $1.2bn) fine on US tech giant Apple for what it sees as anti-competitive practices. It is the biggest fine ever imposed by the French regulator. The firm and two of its wholesalers in France were found to have an unfair agreement to

Image copyright Getty Images An Iceland store in Northern Ireland is opening one hour early to allow older shoppers to buy food when it is quieter amid the coronavirus outbreak. Iceland said it was not a company policy, but it was allowing individual stores to decide how best to meet the needs of shoppers in

(Reuters) – The S&P 500 index plunged over 9% on Monday as trading resumed after an initial automatic 15-minute cutout, driven by mounting fears of the damage the coronavirus is doing to the global economy. The halt at the opening was the third emergency pause in Wall Street trading in six days, and followed another

Image copyright PA Media The government will show flexibility over rail firms’ franchise agreements during the coronavirus outbreak, the transport secretary has suggested. Grant Shapps said he would be meeting rail bosses this week to determine how to “sustain” services amid falling passenger numbers. He added that there would be no point running “ghost trains”,

Image copyright Getty Images Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has sent the first shipment of surgical masks and coronavirus test kits to the US. The Chinese billionaire tweeted two pictures of the pallets of goods being loaded on to a plane in Shanghai. Earlier this month he said he would give 500,000 testing kits and one

Image copyright Getty Images Travel restrictions and a slump in demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have forced airlines to lay off staff and cut more flights. Ryanair is to ground the majority of its fleet, and says a full grounding of its planes “cannot be ruled out”. British Airways owner IAG is

Image copyright Getty Images Stock markets in Asia have fallen even after central banks around the world announced a coordinated effort to ease the effects of the coronavirus. The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a $700bn stimulus programme. It was part of coordinated action announced alongside the eurozone, the

Image copyright Getty Images Louis Vuitton owner LVMH will use its perfume production lines to start making hand santiser to protect people against the coronavirus outbreak. The luxury goods maker says it wants to help tackle a nationwide shortage of the anti-viral products across France. “These gels will be delivered free of charge to the