Business News Round Up (30/10/2020)
IMF: UK economy to shrink more than 10 percent amid second wave
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its growth forecasts for the UK economy today and urged the government to keep spending record amounts to support a recovery. UK GDP will shrink by 10.4% in 2020, the Fund said. The new figure was a considerable from the prediction of a 9.6% fall made just weeks ago. A 10.4% contraction would be worse than anything seen in 300 years. By comparison, GDP dropped 4.2% in 2009 amid the financial crisis. Britain “now faces headwinds from a second Covid-19 wave, Brexit-related uncertainty, rising unemployment, and stress on corporate balance sheets,” the IMF said. The international lender of last resort also said the rebound next year will be weaker than initially expected. It will come in at 5.7% rather than 5.9%, it predicted.
https://www.cityam.com/imf-tells-uk-to-keep-up-record-spending-to-protect-economy/
One in seven shops empty as rates decision due
One in every seven retail premises now stands empty in Scotland as the shop vacancy rate spiked to its highest level in five years. In the third quarter of 2020 it rose from 12.9% in the second quarter to 14%. Across Britain the vacancy rate increased from 12.4% to 13.2%. This was the ninth consecutive quarter of increasing vacancy rates, from Q2 2018. Shopping centres fared the worst among retail sites due to the higher proportion of fashion outlets, where consumer demand has been hit hardest. In Scotland shopping Centre vacancies increased from 15.8% to 16.8%. On the high street, vacancies increased from 12.4% to 13.5% while retail park vacancies increased from 9.5% to 10.4%
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/10/one-in-seven-shops-empty-as-business-rates-decision-due/
UK – Businesses’ hiring confidence sees steady optimism in Q3
Employers’ confidence in hiring for their own business has recovered from a low of -13 in April-June to net zero in July-September, according to the latest JobsOutlook from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. REC’s report also showed that while employers remain concerned about the overall outlook for the UK economy (net: -44, at the same level as the three months to August), this better picture on confidence for their own firms is feeding through to increased hiring. The JobsOutlook report also found that permanent hiring intentions rose to a net: +13 in the short term and a net: +17 in the medium term. This is an improvement from the previous quarter (April-June) at the height of the pandemic, when hiring intentions were net: -2 and net: +10, respectively.
Businesses face a weekend of ‘confusion and distress’ as they work out what five-tier restrictions mean for them
Business groups hit out at today’s Scottish Government five-tier local Covid restrictions announcement warning that it will cause “confusion and distress” and would be the last straw for many firms. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) said the new tier system, which comes into force on Monday, has been introduced without taking into consideration the concerns of the hospitality industry and will cause “utter devastation and sleepless nights for industry owners, operators and staff .” SLTA media spokesman Paul Waterson said: “The situation couldn’t get any worse and we are fielding calls from members who simply can’t take any more of this. They are deeply worried about the future and this will lead to further confusion and distress.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/businesses-face-weekend-confusion-distress-22927405