Weekly review

Equity view

InterContinental Hotels said on Thursday that revenue per available room is expected to have tumbled 80% in April as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on the business.

Travel company Trainline on Thursday pulled 2021 guidance and warned of a significant hit to first quarter profits due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers posted a drop in first-quarter funds under management on Thursday amid a broader stock market slump, but said the second quarter had started well.

BT pulled its dividend on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic, as it posted a drop in full-year profit and revenue.

GlaxoSmithKline announced a rise in the proceeds it was expecting from the sale of its Indian consumer healthcare portfolio on Thursday, as it sold its holding in Hindustan Unilever.

Broadcaster ITV reported a slump in April advertising revenues and a drop in total first-quarter revenues as it took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic.

AstraZeneca said on Wednesday that ‘Farxiga’, or dapagliflozin, has been approved in the United States to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalisation for heart failure in adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, with and without type-2 diabetes.

Transport operator National Express announced on Wednesday a placing of just under 20% of its issued share capital as it looks to lower gearing and provide "further financial flexibility" to invest in growth opportunities as it exits the Covid-19 crisis.

Medical products manufacturer Smith & Nephew saw revenues slump 47% in April after the majority of its operating markets ceased non-essential procedures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

UK lender Virgin Money swung to a first-half loss as it made a £232m bad loans provision due to the coronavirus crisis.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air said April traffic plunged to almost zero in April as the coronavirus pandemic and government travel bans hammered passenger traffic.

Cairn Energy said an offshore exploration well in Mexico operated by Eni had been abandoned after failing to find any hydrocarbons.

Anglo American Platinum said on Tuesday that it has "safely and successfully" completed the repair of the Anglo Converter Plant (ACP) phase B unit ahead of schedule, meaning it can now restart production of its platinum group metals and base metals.

Carnival said it had extended the suspension of its P&O Cruises operations in Australia and New Zealand to August 31, in response to continuing travel restrictions due to the impact of Covid-19.

Refractory products company RHI Magnesita said on Tuesday that the difficult market environment of the second half of 2019 had continued into the first quarter of 2020, with limited impact from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic felt in those first three months.

Car dealer Inchcape said Duncan Tait would join the company on June 1 replacing Stefan Bomhard who is leaving to head up tobacco firm Imperial Brands.

LXI said on Monday that, following an unsolicited approach, it has sold two social housing assets for an aggregate price of £2.2 million to a specialist fund.

Online trading platform IG Group has appointed Charlie Rozes as its new chief financial officer.

Premium chocolatier Hotel Chocolat said on Monday that it has boosted its banking facilities to help see it through the coronavirus crisis.

Car dealer Pendragon confirmed on Monday that it did approach rival Lookers about a potential merger but said early talks have now ended.

Economic news

The Bank of England stood pat on interest rates on Thursday but said it was ready to take further action if needed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

House prices edged lower in April, research published on Thursday showed, as coronavirus restrictions slowed the market.

A shipment of 400,000 protective gowns shipped from Turkey for NHS staff to combat the coronavirus fell below UK standards, the government confirmed on Thursday.

Activity in the UK construction sector slumped to a record low in April as builders shut sites due to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to data released on Wednesday.

Heathrow airport is set to kick off trials for technology aimed to screen passengers and workers at airports to detect Covid-19 and prevent its further transmission.

New car sales have plummeted to their lowest level since just after the Second World War, industry data showed on Tuesday, as Covid-19 shut showrooms and kept customers at home.

Activity in the UK services sector slumped to a record low in April amid the coronavirus lockdown, according to figures out on Tuesday.

Consumer and disability rights group Which? called for improvements in coordinating food deliveries to those in need as some Britons struggle to access basic necessities during the pandemic.

The UK’s largest companies expect the coronavirus to reduce their sales by over a fifth in 2020 according to a survey published on Monday by Deloitte.

British consumer sentiment has dropped to its lowest since January 2012 as most people believe the economy will suffer a heavy recession or a depression triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

International events

President Donald Trump is considering more economic measures against China as tensions rise over US allegations that Beijing downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.

German industrial production fell at the fastest rate on record in March, official data showed on Thursday, as the Covid-19 pandemic shut factories and kept consumers across Europe at home.

The US jobs market continued to deteriorate at a frenetic pace over the latest reference week, although a smidgen less quickly than forecast.

German factory orders tumbled in March as measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus took their toll, according to figures released by Destatis on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that reopening parts of the country would inevitably lead to "more death" but said that it was a price worth paying to get the economy back on its feet.

Private sector employment in the US suffered its worst monthly fall on record in April amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to the latest figures from ADP.

French oil and gas major Total has maintained its dividend, despite the price of crude tumbling to historic lows.

Services sector activity in the States declined at a pace consistent with a six a percent drop in gross domestic product.

Germany's top Constitutional Court called into question the "proportionality" of the European Central Bank's main bond purchase programme, the so-called Public Sector Purchase Programme, but did not call into question the basic outline of the monetary authority's strategy.

Manufacturing activity across the Eurozone collapsed in April, research published Monday showed, as the Covid-19 pandemic closed factories and hit economies across the European Union.

America's Department of Homeland Security accused China of downplaying the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak in the Asian giant even as it ramped up imports of medical supplies and tried to mask its purchases.