Business

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Business closures have put millions of people out of work The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits has surged for a third week in a row as the economic toll tied to the coronavirus intensifies. More than 6.6 million people filed jobless claims in the week ending 4 April, […]

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Flour has been in short supply in supermarkets With the nation confined to their homes amid the coronavirus lockdown, a rise in home baking appears to be contributing to shortages of flour on supermarket shelves. Grocery sales of flour were up 92% in the four weeks to 22 March

Image copyright Reuters Home rental firm Airbnb is to temporarily restrict UK bookings to keyworkers and “essential stays” because of the coronavirus crisis. The firm said that the measure would last until at least 18 April. Keyworkers – such as NHS and social care staff, and transport and food retail employees – can still book

Image copyright Getty Images Oil prices have risen ahead of a meeting of major global oil producers on expectations that they will agree production cuts to counter the slump in demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns. Brent crude rose 3% to $33.95 a barrel on hopes that up to 15 million barrels a day will be

Image copyright Getty Images Social networks need a dedicated button to flag up bogus coronavirus-related posts, an advocacy group has said. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said the apps had “missed a trick” in combating the problem. The call coincides with a study that indicates 46% of internet-using adults in the UK saw

Image copyright Getty Images The UK government is set to borrow billions of pounds from its emergency Bank of England overdraft to finance the fight against Covid-19. It will borrow from the Bank’s “ways and means” facility in April to help workers and businesses. The government has not used the facility since the financial crisis.

Some dairy farmers are having to throw away thousands of litres of fresh milk due to disruption to the supply chain caused by coronavirus. There is concern that some dairy farms may go out of a business, which could result in a milk shortage when demand returns after the pandemic. The National Farmers’ Union has

Image copyright Alex Hilton Image caption IT consultant Alex Hilton with wife Jenny and sons Joe and James British consumers say they are struggling to get refunds on cancelled holidays due to the coronavirus outbreak. IT consultant Alex Hilton and his wife Jenny had planned a skiing holiday in France with university friends they had

Image copyright Getty Images The economic fallout from the coronavirus could increase global poverty by as much a half a billion. This bleak warning comes from a United Nations (UN) study into the financial and human cost of the pandemic. It will be the first time that poverty has increased globally in 30 years, according

Image copyright PA Media Record numbers of people in the UK are looking for farming jobs, according to figures released by job search engines. Totaljobs said it has seen 50,000 searches for farming jobs in the last week alone. Steve Warnham of Totaljobs said workers “who have been temporarily displaced due to Covid-19 are now