Business
Covid inquiry hears impact on firms and staff
Ben King,
Simon Browning and
Archie Mitchell,Business reporters
Getty ImagesWorkers and business leaders have told the Covid-19 inquiry about the devastation they faced during the pandemic and the difficulties they faced accessing support.
Business owners described breaking into tears as they were forced either to lay off staff or shut up shop entirely, while employees told how they feared for their jobs.
The comments were included in 8,000 submissions from the public, and come as the third stage of the inquiry focuses on the measures taken to support workers’ incomes and keep businesses afloat when the pandemic struck.
According to the Treasury, £140bn was spent on support for businesses, much of it going to pay people’s wages when they were forced to stay at home.
The inquiry heard how, on his first day as chancellor in 2020, Rishi Sunak was presented with a briefing on the impact of the Covid outbreak on growth and financial stability.
Two months later, the Treasury concluded the economy was “in hibernation”, with the sharpest fall in output for nearly 100 years.
Sunak is one of the people who will appear before the inquiry, and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will also give evidence in the coming weeks.
Monday’s session opened with emotional video testimony from business owners and freelancers whose livelihoods were upended when Covid lockdowns started.
In the video, Lowri, an events freelancer, explained how she had become desperate as her income stopped and her freelance work vanished. She fought back tears as she explained she qualified for no support. She had a mortgage and a child at home, with “no savings” for back up.
Last week the report on the second phase of the inquiry, into political decision-making, found the government had done “too little, too late”.
The current module, expected to last until just before Christmas, will examine the unprecedented economic intervention rolled out when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020.
The largest scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as furlough, covered 11.7 million jobs between March 2020 and September 2021, at a cost of £70bn.
It paid a portion of employees’ wages to ensure they still had an income even if they could not go to work, and to keep businesses going so that they could reopen later.
There was also a support scheme for self-employed people, loan schemes for businesses and business rates relief.
Questions were raised over the scale of the financial support, the strength of safeguards against fraud and error, and whether it delayed people taking up new work roles.
In submissions to the inquiry, employees told the inquiry how they were worried of losing their jobs and faced a scramble to pay bills through the pandemic, with some missing out on furlough payments after being made redundant.
However, others said their careers were rescued by the furlough programme, while some business owners said they were saved by government support schemes and spared having to make redundancies.
As part of the submissions, the owner of a small retailer told the inquiry: “One awful day, I had to call 80% of my staff and tell them that we had to make them redundant because there was no job for them anymore.
“And I cried, I didn’t sleep all night, I was so, so, upset. I had people that had worked for me for seven, eight years, that I had to say, ‘I’m so sorry, I literally can’t afford to pay you anymore because we’ve got no business’.”
Describing flaws in the furlough system, one Northern Irish contributor said her husband lost his job in the run-up to the scheme coming to an end. “It then got extended, but he’d already been let go,” she said.
The Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which was introduced by Sunak, split opinion among bosses.
“When we reopened, it helped to get people back into the pub and it helped us increase our profits,” the finance director of a large English food and drinks firm said.
But an operations manager at a travel and hospitality firm in Wales said: “When we look back, it probably wasn’t the right thing to do, given where we were with the pandemic.”
The Covid Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Hallett, is expected to look at 10 areas in total, and provide lessons for managing future pandemics.
This phase of the inquiry will also look at the additional funding provided for public services such as the railways to keep them running during lockdowns, and support for the voluntary and community sector.
It will examine decisions on benefits, sick pay and support for vulnerable people.
Also appearing before the inquiry are:
- Former Treasury officials James Benford and Dan York-Smith
- Representatives of the charities Child Poverty Action Group, Long Covid Support and Disability UK
- Former Downing Street special adviser Ben Warner
- Former director general for analysis of the Covid-19 Taskforce, Robert Harrison.
Last week, Sunak told the BBC the government and scientific community were “operating in a highly uncertain environment”.
“I think we do need to view the decisions taken through that lens.
“But it’s important that lessons [are] learned so that we can be better prepared if there’s ever another pandemic.”
Business
Defence stocks surge on Middle East tensions! HAL, BEL, Paras Defence rise up to 13% even as stock market crashes – The Times of India
Defence stocks today: Contrary to the crash in Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, defence stocks on Monday moved up in trade as rising Middle East tensions brought focus back on them. Shares of defence companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics, BEL and Paras Defence surged by as much as 13.5% as tensions in the Middle East intensified following the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The escalation has raised expectations of increased export opportunities and strengthened investor sentiment toward the sector. Paras Defence led the gains, climbing 13.5%. Meanwhile, HAL, BEL and Bharat Dynamics advanced by up to 3.5% on the BSE.During his recent visit to Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the two countries would move ahead with joint development, production and technology transfer in the defence sector.A joint statement issued after the visit noted that India and Israel would collaborate on the co-development and manufacturing of defence equipment to deepen strategic ties. The two sides also agreed to work toward concluding a bilateral trade agreement soon, broaden cooperation under the UPI digital payments framework, and partner on space projects and emerging technologies, among other areas.Brokerage house JM Financial said Indian defence companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited may receive sentiment support despite continued volatility in domestic equities amid a broader global risk-off environment, according to an ET report.Defence counters have seen significant fluctuations in recent months. The sector saw a robust rally last year after Indian armed forces conducted targeted strikes against terrorist groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. However, the uptrend later lost steam in the absence of new catalysts.Even as defence counters could witness a strong rally amid the escalating conflict, the wider equity market is expected to stay subdued.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
Business
Stock Market News Live Updates: Sensex Down Over 1,000 Points, Nifty Below 24,900; India VIX Jumps Nearly 20%
Nifty, Sensex Stock Market Today Live Updates: Indian benchmark indices continued their downward trajectory on Monday, tracking weak global cues as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran escalated.
As of 11:00 AM, the Sensex was trading 1.34 per cent, or 1,086.02 points, lower at 80,201.17, while the Nifty50 declined 1.31 per cent, or 350.55 points, to 24,828.10. Shares of Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone were among the biggest laggards in the Nifty 50 index.
Broader market indices also traded in the red, with the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices falling 0.93 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto was the worst performer, sliding more than 2 per cent as shares of Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra & Mahindra came under pressure.
On the other hand, the Nifty Metal index declined the least, making it the relatively best-performing sectoral index in early trade despite the overall weak market sentiment.
Global Cues
Over the weekend, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials were killed in a joint US-Israel military operation. The conflict appears set to intensify, with US President Donald Trump vowing to retaliate after American servicemen were killed in Iran’s counterattacks, according to agency reports.
Asian markets tumbled in early Monday trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped as much as 2.7% and 2.43%, respectively.
On Sunday, US stock futures declined more than 1% after the strikes on Iran. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were reported to have fallen 1.11% each.
During the Asia session, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and S&P 500 futures were down 0.6% and 0.54%, respectively.
In commodities, oil prices surged amid rising concerns over supply disruptions in the key producing region. Brent crude futures jumped 13.76% to $82.37 per barrel — the highest level since January 2025 — according to Bloomberg data.
Gold and silver futures rose more than 1% as investors turned to safe-haven assets.
Business
Labour parliamentarians urge UK Government to oppose Rosebank oil field
Labour MPs are among a group of more than 60 parliamentarians to have made public their opposition to the planned Rosebank oil field – with one of Sir Keir Starmer’s backbenchers urging the Government to rule against the development and take a stand “against Trump, Reform and their fossil fuel paymasters”.
Clive Lewis is one of more than 50 MPs at Westminster who have signed a pledge from campaign group Uplift to “oppose the Rosebank oil field” and instead “advocate for a properly funded just transition for oil and gas workers and communities”.
Urging the Government to reject the development, Norwich South MP Mr Lewis said: “We must stand our ground against Trump, Reform and their fossil fuel paymasters.
“Approving an enormous new oil field would mean caving in to their anti-climate, anti-renewables agenda that runs completely counter to our values and our long-term interests.”
Scottish Labour MP Chris Murray, another of the Labour MPs to have signed the pledge, said the decision on Rosebank was “an opportunity for the Government to change course”.
It comes as the UK Government continues to consider whether the development of the oil field can go ahead – with Labour now under mounting pressure after the loss of the Gorton and Denton by-election to the Greens on Thursday.
Rosebank, which lies about 80 miles west of Shetland, is the UK’s largest untapped field, containing up to an estimated 300 million barrels of oil.
Drilling there was approved by the Conservative government in 2023 but was then subject to a legal challenge in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling which said the emissions created from burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new sites.
Now the decision on whether it can proceed lies with Labour ministers – with some 16 Labour MPs having made plain their opposition to the development.
The group includes Mr Lewis, Mr Murray, former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Scottish Labour’s Brian Leishman.
Former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott have also signed the pledge, along with a number of Liberal Democrat and Green MPs, SNP MP Chris Law, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts and Paul Maskey of Sinn Fein.
In Scotland a number of Labour MSPs have signed the pledge, along with Green MSPs – including the party’s Scottish co-leader Ross Greer – and former SNP health secretary Michael Matheson.
While previous Scottish first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf made plain their opposition to Rosebank, First Minister John Swinney has insisted the Scottish Government takes a “case-by-case approach” to new oil and gas developments, stressing these should only proceed if found to be compatible with climate change targets.
Mr Lewis said opposing Rosebank would “show that a Labour Government will stand by the promises we made to the country”.
He added: “There are only so many times we can afford to make mistakes and then change course.
“With Rosebank, we have an opportunity to get it right the first time.”
Mr Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, said many locals in his constituency were “deeply concerned about Rosebank and rightly so”.
He added: “Climate change is one of the reasons I came into politics, and opening new oil and gas fields is simply incompatible with our climate commitments.
“With the North Sea’s oil supply dwindling, Scotland’s energy sector must transition to clean energy, or workers risk being left behind.”
Scottish Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba, who has also signed the pledge, argued that “approving projects like Rosebank will lock us into a toxic dependence on volatile, conflict-ridden fossil fuels”.
This would create “another excuse to delay the urgent investment needed to create secure, well-paid jobs for Scotland’s workers”, she added.
Ms Villalba said: “In an increasingly uncertain world, where climate action is relegated in favour of fossil politics, the UK and Scotland must lead the way on the clean energy transition.”
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said people in her constituency and across the country “are already facing the consequences of an increasingly unstable climate”.
Highlighting the impact of flooding and “skyrocketing food prices”, she said that “climate impacts are now a daily reality”.
Ms Hobhouse said: “Extreme weather is damaging crops, putting pressure on farmers, and destroying our precious natural environment.
“We cannot ignore these warning signs.
“A massive new oil field like Rosebank would only make matters worse.
“The emissions would be enormous, locking us into decades more pollution when we should be cutting carbon and unlocking the benefits of cheap, renewable energy.”
Approving the Rosebank development would “make a mockery of Labour’s environmental promises”, she said.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good long-term jobs.”
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