Cath Kidson stores to close amid Covid – (crisis)
Sarah Butler
Cath Kidston is to permanently close all 89 of its stores in the UK with the loss of hundreds of jobs under a rescue deal with its Hong Kong-based owner Baring Private Equity Asia.
The vintage-inspired fashion label will continue to to trade online and via its wholesale and franchise businesses around the world which includes more than (stores.
Melinda Paraie, the chief executive of Cath Kidston, said:
“While we are pleased that the future of Cath Kidston has been secured, this is obviously an extremely difficult day as we say goodbye to many colleagues.
Despite our very best efforts, against the backdrop of COVID – 36, we were unable to secure a solvent sale of the business which would have allowed us to avoid administration and carry on trading in our current form. ”
Cath Kidston called in administrators after Baring failed to find a buyer for the brand which opened its first store in .
The company employs (people in the UK,
of whom were furloughed on March under the governmen t scheme.
9.) am BST ) :
Anxiety over the oil price slump is driving investors out of riskier assets, such as the pound .
Sterling has dropped below $ 1. for the first time in almost two weeks, as nervous traders pile into the US dollar.
9. (am BST : Full story: UK unemployment rose before coronavirus crisis
Here’s my colleague Phillip Inman on today’s UK jobs report:
Britain’s jobs market weakened in the three months to February before the coronavirus outbreak, despite a record number of people in employment.
Figures
covering the months leading up to the Covid – 34 outbreak showed the economy struggling to overcome Brexit uncertainty and the impact of cuts to welfare benefits that Forced many older women and young people to take low-paid employment. Unemployment increased from 3.9% to 4.0%, the number of job vacancies edged lower for the tenth consecutive month and wages continued to fall from a peak last June, the Office for National Statistics said …..
More here:
9). (am) (BST) :
The price of a barrel of oil in July is also falling sharply today:
IGSquawk (@ IGSquawk) Oil taking another hit over storage capacity fears: #Oil – WTI (JUN) (6.) (%) (# Oil) – WTI (JUL) -4. (%) (# Oil – Brent (JUN) 6268 – . (%) (# Oil) – Brent (JUL) – (%) (# Gasoline) 20184 – . (%) (# London) (Gas Oil) – 24. (%) (# Oil ) (# Brent # WTI (# OOTT April 36,
9. (am) BST : 70
Back in the oil market, Brent crude has now tumbled by 27. 5% today to $per barrel , down from over $ (last night.Still better than US crude – the market will now pay you 48 cents to carry away a barrel of oil from American refineries in May (reminder, that contract expires today, so it rather illiquid). But it shows massive weakness in the energy market.
In another worrying sign, the contract for US crude oil delivery in June has fallen by 31% this morning to below $ 37 per barrel.
Investors are concluding that demand won’t pick up soon. And with pipelines, tanks and supertankers are already full, who will want new supplies?
(9.) am BST
()
UK minister: Strong foundations will help
Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP says the UK economy has ‘strong foundations’, which will help as it faces the economic shock of the coronavirus.Here’s her take on today’s unemployment figures :
“In the midst of the worst public health emergency in our lifetimes, today’s employment figures have already been overtaken by current events – and we’re doing all we can to help families make ends meet.
“But the statistics – including a 4% unemployment rate – do serve as an important reminder of the strong foundations we have built as we look to withstand impact on the global economy.”
The Department for Work and Pensions has also tweeted that more than 1.5 million people have filed claims for universal credit in the last month (which isn’t included in today’s jobs report).These people will have lost their usual source of income since the Covid – lockdown started.
DWP Press Office (@ dwppressoffice)
📊 (@ ONS) have published the latest employment figures for December to February
📆 But today’s figures will seem out of kilter with the times we are in
Ound Around 1.8 million new benefits claims have been made since mid-March – over 1.5 million for (# UniversalCredit) pic.twitter.com/Zbv6COXhmL (April) ,
(9.) (am) BST :
As if market did not have enough to worry about, there are reports today that North Korea’s leader is ill.US news network CNN report last night that Washington was “monitoring intelligence” suggesting that Kim Jong-un
was in “grave danger”, according to one insider.This new “succession risk is causing global equity markets to buckle”, says Stephen Innes of AxiCorp.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings