48 Daily Express Wednesday, April 8, 2020
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CAR dealership business Inchcape has scrapped
its dividend as part of measures to preserve cash
after being hurt by the coronavirus outbreak.
The motor retailer said trading in a “large
number” of its markets has been impacted
by closures or “significantly lower business
activity” as a result of the virus.
The UK-based firm said its global expansion is
supporting its performance, with 14 markets
still operating, including in Australia, Hong Kong
and Ethiopia.
Inchcape said it has taken “swift action” to
reduce its cost base and capital expenditure
to mitigate the impact of the virus.
It said its board and senior management have
opted to take a 20 per cent cut in salary and fees
during the second quarter in order to support
the business.MORE banks are ramping up their interest-free
overdraft buffers to £500 to help households
offset the financial impact of coronavirus.
Lloyds Banking Group said that from
tomorrow it will increase its interest-free buffer
to a maximum of £500 on all agreed overdrafts
for three months.
They said customers with an agreed
overdraft do not need to take any action as
this will automatically be available for three
months until July 9.
Customers can apply for new overdraft
borrowing using the bank’s mobile app, online
banking or by calling the bank.
TSB has also announced that, from today, a
£500 interest-free buffer will be in place for
its current account customers for the next
three months.BIG business should invest in research to stem the
Covid-19 pandemic and get the economy moving
again, experts have said.
Investment in vaccines and treatments is “the
world’s best exit strategy”, a health charity said.
The Wellcome Trust is aiming to secure $8billion
(£6.5billion) in less than a month to put towards
research and resources aimed to tackle the virus –
and it is calling on multinational corporations to
come forward to help financially.while non-executive directors
will also defer fees.
Cineworld said it has held
discussion with landlords, the
film studios and major suppliersas it has sought to preserve
cash. The company added it is
also “curtailing all unnecessary
capital expenditure”.
The cinema business said it
is also discussing its ongoing
liquidity requirements with its
lending banks. In a statement,MARKET REPORT
INVESTORS remained positive
yesterday as markets continued
the strong momentum from
Monday, as small signs that the
coronavirus pandemic is cooling
slightly in the hardest-hit
European countries.
The FTSE 100 leading index of
shares closed the day up 122.06
points, or 2.19 per cent, at
5704.45 – but it was a 5 per cent
jump on the FTSE 250 which
peaked traders’ interest.
In company news, easyJet bosses
revealed they had secured a
£600million Government loan.
Founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
had warned the firm would “run
out of money by around August”.
The biggest risers were Carnival
up 158.8p at 874.8p; easyJet up
83.4p at 635.8p; Rolls-Royce up
38p at 335.7p; and ITV up 6.94p
at 65.6p.
Biggest fallers were Hikma
down 149p at 2,199p; Ocado
down 64.5p at 1,324.5p; and
AstraZeneca down 184p at 7,000p.CINEWORLD bosses have By Henry Saker-Clark
deferred their pay after the
company was forced to shut its
entire portfolio of 787 cinemas.
The world’s second-largest
cinema operator said it is also
suspending payment of its
proposed dividend for the
fourth quarter, as it looks to
mitigate the impact of the
coronavirus outbreak.
It said the Government-
mandated closure of cinemas has
been “extremely challenging”.
Cineworld said it has put on
hold the payment of a 4.25
cents (3.4p) per share dividend
payout for the final quarter of
2019 and upcoming 2020 quar-
terly dividends.
It came as the business con-
firmed its executive directors
will defer salaries and bonuses,Cineworld said: “This has
obviously been extremely
challenging in many respects
and our first priority has
been the health and safety of
our customers, employees and
other stakeholders.
“This is a painful but neces-
sary process, as before the
onslaught of the Covid-19 virus
we were excited and confident
about the group’s prospects.
“With very few exceptions,
the good relationships we have
built up over the years have
been supportive and under-
standing of our efforts and,
together with us, our industry
partners look forward to the
time when we shall again be
able to open our doors and
provide entertainment and
pleasure to our customers.”PAYOUTS: High wages at Google’s London officesGOOGLE STAFF EARN £234,000
GOOGLE’S UK workforce earned an average of
£234,000 each last year.
The tech giant paid more than £1billion in
wages and bonuses to its 4,439 staff – but only
£44million in UK corporation tax.
The wage bill was up 25 per cent on 2018.
But the tax payment was down on the
£66million paid a year earlier, due to profits
falling after hiring 800 more staff, including
400 in research and development.
Google’s UK operation, with offices in
London, is primarily used as the marketing and
sales division of its European operation, which
is based in Dublin, where taxes are lower.City&Business
email: [email protected]
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Tel: 020 8612 7156
‘We look forward
to when we open
our doors again’
Australia 1.94 dollar
Canada 1.66 dollar
China 8.10 renminbi
Czech Rep. 28.78 koruna
Denmark 7.86 krone
Eurozone 1.10 euro
Hong Kong 9.13 dollar
Hungary 369.74 forint
Israel 4.12 shekel
Japan 127.13 yen
Kenya 120.43 shilling
Mexico 27.63 peso
New Zealand 1.93 dollar
Norway 12.09 krone
Poland 4.76 zloty
Saudi Arabia 4.45 riyal
South Africa 21.48 rand
Sweden 11.87 krona
Switzerland 1.16 franc
Thailand 37.89 baht
Turkey 7.78 lira
United States 1.19 dollarTOURIST’S POUNDSTOCK MARKETWORLD MARKETSSTERLING VALUECOMMODITIESDOLLAR VALUEFTSE 100 5704.5 +122.1
FTSE 250 15569.0 +756.6
FTSE ALL SHARE 3141.3 +82.4
Shares Traded 7828.5 millionWALL STREET
TOKYO 18950.2 +373.9
HONG KONG 24253.3 +504.2
GERMANY 10356.7 +281.5
FRANCE 4438.3 +92.1Dollar 1.233 +0.010
Yen 134.288 +0.717
Euro 1.131 -0.002Dollar/Yen 108.906 -0.2917
Dollar/Euro 0.918 -0.0092GOLD($) 1647.10
KRUGERRAND(£) 1342.49
SILVER(pence) 1182.49
BRENT CRUDE($) 32.88POPULAR SHARES ON THE RISE
Aviva 266¾ +20¾
BAE Systems 528½ +11¾
Barclays 94¾ +8¼
BP 341 +5¼
BT Group 121¾ +4¾
Centrica 32½ +1
GlaxoSmithKline 1514¾ +5½
HSBC Holdings 419½ +5
Int Consolidated Airlines 242¾ +16¼
Lloyds Banking Group 31¼ +1¼
Marks & Spencer Group 111¼ +11¼
Rolls-Royce Holdings 335¾ +38
Royal Bank of Scotland 115½ +8½
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' 1486 +49½
Royal Mail 134¼ +4
Saga 17 +½
Standard Life Aberdeen 221¼ +13
Tesco 224¼ +2½
Unilever 4163 +27POPULAR SHARES UNCHANGED
Sainsbury (J) 206POPULAR SHARES ON THE SLIDE
AstraZeneca 7000 -184
National Grid 856½ -9½
Vodafone Group 115¾ -1AT A GLANCE
Base rate 0.10%
Halifax mortgage rate 3.99%
Retail Price Index +2.5% (CPI +1.7%)
House price Index +1.3%
Unemployment 1,340,000OTHER INDICATORS++ THE FTSE 100 THE FTSE 100 THE FTSE 100 ++
52 WEEK
COMPANY CLOSE +/- HIGH LOW52 WEEK
COMPANY CLOSE +/- HIGH LOW52 WEEK
COMPANY CLOSE +/- HIGH LOW
3i Group ....................................... 769½ +34¾ 1184½ 597¾
A.B. Foods .....................................1934 +83½ 2708 1607½
Admiral Group ............................2204 +29 2330 1887
Anglo American...................... 1427# +129½ 2266 1091¾
Antofagasta ............................... 776½ +11¼ 1022½ 612
Ashtead Group ...........................1902 +152 2774 1300
AstraZeneca .................................7000 -184 7878 5644
Aveva Group ...............................3438 +25 5315 2846
Aviva .............................................. 266¾ +20¾ 438½ 211
BAE Systems .............................. 528½ +11¾ 669 439
Barclays ........................................... 94¾ +8¼ 192½ 80¼
Barratt Development ............ 471¼ +23¾ 878½ 364¾
Berkeley Grp Hldgs ..................3836 +56 5474 3131
BHP Billiton ..............................1326½ +47¾ 2049 939¾
BP ........................................................ 341 +5¼ 582½ 233¾
British Amer.Tob ................. 2941½# -20½ 3507 2382
British Land ..................................370# +35 638¾ 313¾
BT Group ..................................... 121¾ +4¾ 230¾ 107¼
Bunzl................................................1645 +78½ 2551 1277
Burberry Group ......................1394½ +64½ 2345 1085
Carnival ........................................ 874¾ +158¾ 4120 605
Centrica ........................................... 32½ +1 111 30½
Coca-Cola HBC .......................1951½ +115½ 3074 1494
Compass Group .....................1241½ +91½ 2138 1002
CRH ............................................... 2232# -9 3100 1574
Croda International ..................4283 +39 5375 4070
DCC ..................................................5180 +154 7496 3878
Diageo ......................................... 2569# +15½ 3625½ 2200
DS Smith .......................................... 292 +18 394¾ 254¾
EasyJet .......................................... 635¾ +83½ 1552 475
Evraz .............................................. 248¼ +16 709½ 203½
Experian Group .......................... 2220 +43 2898 1882
Ferguson .................................... 5092# +339 7602 4086
Fresnillo ........................................ 694½ +31¼ 921¼ 527
GlaxoSmithKline ................. 1514¾# +5½ 1846 1374½
Glencore ...................................... 141½ +11¼ 340¼ 112½
Halma..........................................1903½ +55 2244 1667
Hargreaves Lansdown ........1388½ +71½ 2433 1158Hikma .......................................... 2199# -149 2394 1580
HSBC Holdings .......................419½# +5 680½ 397¼
Imperial Brands ......................1554½ +2½ 2554 1276½
Informa......................................... 432¼ +40¾ 892 363¾
InterContinental Htl .............. 3462# +287 5738 2385½
Intermediate Cap.Grp .............1023 +69 1877 559½
Intertek Group ............................4620 +102 6170 4164
Intl Consolidated Airlines .... 242¾ +16¼ 671 195
ITV ...................................................... 65½ +7 156½ 54½
John David Group .................. 514¾ +47¾ 881½ 293¼
Johnson Matthey ..................1824½ +38 3454 1683½
Land Securities .......................598¼# +53¼ 1001½ 514½
Legal & General ........................ 203¾ +17½ 318½ 138½
Lloyds Banking Grp................... 31¼ +1¼ 67¼ 27¾
London Stock Ex........................7180 +116 8542 4770
M&G ................................................... 130 +12¼ 86½ 252½
Meggitt ......................................262½# +12 697½ 217
Melrose ............................................ 92# +3¼ 248½ 74¼
Mondi ...................................... 1318½# +37 1846 1183
Morrison (Wm) ......................... 180¼ -2 227½ 164¼
National Grid ............................. 856½ -9½ 1067½ 778
Next .................................................4085 +308 7340 3390Ocado .........................................1324½ -64½ 1479½ 1064
Paddy Power Betfair ................7400 +126 9456 5512
Pearson ......................................498½# +19¾ 927 454½
Pennon Group ............................1016 -9½ 1202½ 697¾
Persimmon ...................................1956 +129 3298 1534½
Phoenix Group ...........................570# +26¼ 803 467½
Polymetal Intl. .........................1390½ -15½ 1457 772½
Prudential .............................. 1082½# +61½ 1790 710¾
Reckitt Benckiser .......................6150 -10 6688 5150
Reed Elsevier ...............................1718 -24 2099 1482½
Rentokil Initial ............................... 395 +10½ 525½ 340
Rightmove .................................. 498½ +26¼ 701¼ 400
Rio Tinto .................................. 3776½# 4976½ 2968
Rolls-Royce Group .................. 335¾ +38 941¼ 251½
Royal Bank Of Scot ...............115½# +8½ 263¼ 101¾
RSA Insurance Grp................403¼# +15 597 327
Ryl Dutch Shell ‘A’ ......................1530 +51¼ 2612 970¾
Ryl Dutch Shell ‘B’ ......................1486 +49½ 2622 916¾
Sage Group ................................ 581½ +16 820½ 534¾
Sainsbury (J) .................................. 206 236½ 175
Schroders ................................... 2563# +190 3443 2098
Scottish Mortgage...................... 597 +24½ 659 468½
SEGRO.............................................781# +15 935 659½
Severn Trent .................................2175 -32 2696 1905½
Smith & Nephew .................... 1473# +40½ 1990 1152½
Smiths Group ..............................1180 +93 1769½ 814½
Spirax-Sarco .................................8284 +574 9415 7330
SSE ....................................................1157 +25½ 1686½ 1008
St James’s Place ............................ 772 +36¾ 1199½ 660
Standard Chartered .................434# +13 738½ 398½
Standard Life ...........................221¼# +13 337 174
Taylor Wimpey ........................127¼# +10¼ 236¼ 101½
Tesco.............................................. 224¼ +2½ 259 211¼
Unilever ..........................................4163 +27 5324 3726
United Utilities .......................... 833½ +7¼ 1061 759
Vodafone Group ...................... 115¾ -1 165¼ 98
Whitbread .....................................2654 +85 5152 2105
WPP Group................................. 563¼ +50¼ 1077½ 483¾