Business

French authorities have said they are ready to give financial support to the struggling Eurostar. The country’s junior transport minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, told a parliamentary hearing in Paris he was talking with the UK government about ensuring the cross-Channel train operator survives the coronavirus pandemic. He said the French state would be “at Eurostar’s side

California on Monday recorded by far the highest number of Covid-19 deaths it has seen over the course of the pandemic. But the shocking loss of 764 lives may not have been the biggest virus-related news in the state. Nor was the generally better news on Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. On Friday, the Associated Press

Retail sales in 2020 saw the largest annual fall since records began in 1996, as retailers continued to suffer from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite a 0.3% rise in sales volumes during December, the figure for 2020 as a whole saw sales down 1.9%, with clothing sales slumping by more than a quarter.

Speaking from Dodger Stadium, which he proposed was the country’s — and possibly the world’s — “largest Covid-19 vaccination site,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that Los Angeles’ five vaccination sites have already administered vaccines to more than 80,000 people. The mayor said that, on Wednesday alone, the Dodger Stadium facility delivered a staggering

Next has pulled out of the bidding for TopShop as the auction of Sir Philip Green’s former high street empire enters its closing stages. Sky News has learnt that a consortium comprising Next and Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a US investment firm, have withdrawn from a process being run by Arcadia Group’s administrator. The surprise

Dr. Anthony Fauci led his first Covid-19 press conference for the Biden Administration on Thursday. Asked about newly-confirmed President Joe Biden’s directive to “be completely transparent,” Fauci called it “liberating.” The nation’s foremost infectious diseases expert then went on to confirm that, while the United States may be seeing a “plateauing” of its Covid-19 numbers,

Ladbrokes owner Entain has appointed Jette Nygaard-Andersen as the first female chief executive of a major listed British gambling group. The announcement, confirming a move first reported by Sky News, adds to the small number of women who are FTSE 100 bosses. They also include Severn Trent’s Liv Garfield, Whitbread’s Alison Brittain and NatWest chief

New numbers from the Los Angeles Department of Health Services seem to confirm one of health experts’ worst fears. Officials long have warned about an exponentially increasing number of deaths should hospitals become overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases and patients no longer can receive the same high standard of care. Estimates released Wednesday by L.A. Health

Pressure is mounting on the UK and French governments to agree financial aid for Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail operator, as it fights for survival. The company admitted late last year that the continuing COVID-19 crisis, which has forced it to slash services from a normal level of more than 50 trains a day to just

Democrats took control of the Senate for the first time since 2015, as Vice President Kamala Harris swore in her appointed successor, Alex Padilla, as well as Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who won their races in Georgia earlier this month. “I need to catch my breath, so much is happening,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer

Inflation rose to 0.6% last month as clothing prices edged higher following extended Black Friday discounting the month before. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation was up from 0.3% in November and a little higher than the expected figure of 0.5%. Clothes prices increased fractionally during December over a period when they usually

Tom Holland unveiled a handful of details about Disneyland’s newest ride inspired by his Marvel superhero, Spider-Man. In a video posted on Tuesday, the Cherry and Onward actor gave fans and theme park enthusiasts a rundown on what to expect when the upcoming attraction opens up for business. “Peter has started an initiative called W.E.B.,

HSBC has announced plans to shut 82 UK branches this year after a shift towards telephone and internet banking. The bank said it would “aim to redeploy all customer service colleagues who are impacted… into suitable nearby locations” but did not immediately say how many jobs were affected. HSBC said the decision reflected “local market

Fangoria is expanding its genre-driven empire with Fangoria Studios. The entertainment and publishing company is teaming with Circle of Confusion for the newly launched banner to develop and produce film, television, and podcasts using the Fangoria, Starlog, and Gorezone brands with a focus on sci-fi and horror projects with global appeal. Circle of Confusion is

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged by the CBI to extend the government’s furlough and business rates holiday schemes – and to act before March’s budget. The business group said firms needed to know whether financial lifelines that have helped them survive through the coronavirus crisis will be available as they plan for the months

EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump is facing possible expulsion from SAG-AFTRA. Deadline has learned that the union’s national board of directors will meet Tuesday morning in a special session regarding disciplinary action against him, which could lead to his expulsion. The former star of The Apprentice – and soon-to-be former president – has been a member of the

Joe Biden faces two economic challenges in taking office this week. The first and most immediate priority will be to get to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic and the damage it has inflicted on the US economy. The rollout of vaccines itself is way behind where those who run US health policy had hoped it

Implementation of a nationwide mask mandate, combined with complementary public health measures, could reduce the coronavirus’ spread to essentially zero and have a potential $1 trillion impact on the U.S. GDP, according to UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers. The team’s research “makes clear that even as vaccines are developed and new variants, like

China has confirmed its bounce-back from the coronavirus crisis as official figures revealed its economy grew by 2.3% last year. The expansion was the weakest since 1976 after the pandemic sent GDP into reverse at the start of 2020. But the country where COVID-19 was first identified will be the only major global economy to

Twitter has silenced Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter… for now. The social media platform temporarily suspended the account of Greene after she violated new rules that went into effect following the events at the Capitol. The Georgia congresswoman has a history of bolstering QAnon conspiracy theories. Those came into play via a thread of

Interactive Investor, Britain’s second-largest direct-to-consumer share trading platform, is on the verge of another strategically compelling takeover with a deal to buy the retail business formerly known as Selftrade. Sky News has learnt that II is close to announcing the purchase of EQi, a division of the FTSE-250 support services group Equiniti. City sources said