The US big five tech giants – Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft – make up something between a fifth and a quarter of the US bluechip index, the S&P 500.
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, will dispose of its US energy arm to local firm NRG Energy for £2.85billion. Vodafone is plotting to float its European masts business in Frankfurt next year.
The virus could wipe one year off Britons’ typical life expectancy. And because people may die earlier than expected, pension schemes will not have to pay out as much as previously thought.
Part of that is due to its partnership with Oxford University, which is developing a promising potential vaccines for the coronavirus. But it is also down to a portfolio of blockbuster medicines.
It agreed to pay £470m and said it had ordered a subsidiary to plead guilty in a trial over what prosecutors described as a ‘truly shameful scheme’ that put profits before the health of patients.
IAG may offer new shares at a discount to existing investors. But it is also thinking about other options as it fights what boss Willie Walsh has said is ‘the greatest crisis’ the industry has ever faced.
Revenues at Hotel Chocolat rose 3 per cent in the year to June 28, to £136m even though its stores shut. And sales at Naked Wines shot up 77 per cent in the three months to June.
Its bankers were accused of helping Jho Low, a Malaysian financier, funnel billions of dollars out of the 1MDB fund, meant for the country’s development.
The chain alarmed shareholders when it said it was not eligible for emergency coronavirus loans. But the £15m debt facility with Hilco for the next two years should be enough to keep it trading.
Demand for printed textbooks has fallen but lockdown accelerated the take-up of internet-based courses and learning materials, cushioning the blow.