Author: LoveWorld UK

Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season while Watford and Bournemouth were relegated along with bottom club Norwich City. Aston Villa survived the drop thanks to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United which moved them to 35 points, one more than Bournemouth, who go down despite a 3-1 win at Everton, and Watford who lost 3-2 at Arsenal. A penalty from Bruno Fernandes and late goal from Jesse Lingard gave United a 2-0 win at Leicester City, who missed out on the Champions League by…

Ratings agency Moody’s on Monday downgraded the long-term senior unsecured bonds of Rolls-Royce (RR.L) to junk status, saying that the aviation market served by the British engineering firm has weakened and could fall further. Moody’s cut its ratings on the UK-based engine-maker’s bonds by two notches to Ba2 from Baa3, meaning its bonds are now regarded as non-investment grade, and also gave the company as a whole a Ba2 rating with a negative outlook. Shares in Rolls-Royce, which have already lost almost two-thirds of their value during the pandemic, dropped 5.7% to trade at 253 pence at 0827 GMT, after…

Returning to the office will bring new challenges for banks and brokerages seeking to enforce good conduct by staff, after the bulk of their employees worked from home during the coronavirus pandemic, a financial markets industry body said on Monday. During lockdowns to stem the outbreak in big financial centres like London, dealers have faced compliance challenges as they trade currencies, stocks, bonds and commodities from kitchens and bedrooms. Many firms did not allow working from home before the pandemic. Regulators have worried about financial firms’ ability to maintain good trading standards while compliance teams were out of sight, but…

Amazon on Monday announced it would create an additional 1,000 jobs in Ireland, bringing its workforce in the country to 5,000. Ireland has a decades-old policy of attracting multinational jobs with a low corporate tax rate, making it a hub for U.S. companies – including heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Facebook – which account for one in 10 local jobs. Many of the new jobs, which include software and network engineers, will be in Amazon Web Services, which has a large presence in Ireland, Amazon said in a statement. Amazon also plans to open a delivery station in Dublin…

Euro zone business activity bounced back to growth in July as more parts of the economy that were locked down to curtail the spread of the coronavirus reopened and consumers emerged from their homes to return to work and spend money, a survey showed. Over 15 million people across the world have been infected by the coronavirus but as the rate of infections has eased across much of Europe, governments have loosened restrictions. That unleashing of pent-up demand pushed IHS Markit’s flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), seen as a good indicator of economic health, to 54.8 in July from…

The South Korean government announced on Friday it will begin allowing a limited number of fans back into baseball and football stadiums as soon as Sunday, under new rules aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Fans will be allowed to attend Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) games starting on Sunday, and Korea Professional Football League (K League) matches starting August 1, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a government meeting. Both leagues will only be allowed to sell 10% percent of the seats available at any given game, he said. “Many citizens who have been cheering via online are…

British retail sales jumped back almost to pre-coronavirus lockdown levels in June when non-essential stores in England reopened, giving a boost to beleaguered clothing stores. Sales volumes in June leapt by 13.9% from May, above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. A 70% surge in clothing and footwear sales reversed much of their slump in recent months, though the sector remains one of the worst hit, with spending 35% below pre-pandemic levels. Overall sales volumes rose to within 0.6% of February’s level. Excluding fuel sales, hit by less commuting and other travel, volumes were 2.4% higher than in…

China ordered the United States to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu on Friday, responding to a U.S. demand this week that China close its Houston consulate, as relations between the world’s two largest economies deteriorate. The order to close the consulate in Chengdu, in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, was seen as roughly reciprocal in terms of scale and impact, continuing China’s recent practice of like-for-like responses to U.S. actions. China had warned it would retaliate after it was unexpectedly given 72 hours – until Friday – to vacate its Houston consulate, and had urged the United States…

Liverpool’s players finally got their hands on the Premier League trophy on Wednesday in a muted presentation ceremony in front of an empty Kop after a thrilling 5-3 victory over Chelsea in their last home game of the season. The club’s first English title for 30 years had been sealed almost a month ago with seven games remaining, following a three-month stoppage because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenny Dalglish, the last Liverpool manager to deliver the title, presented the medals wearing a red face mask before handing the trophy to captain Jordan Henderson who raised it to the night sky…

The mayor of the U.S. city of Portland, Ted Wheeler, was stung by tear gas early on Thursday morning after he joined demonstrators protesting against racial injustice and police brutality. Protests have rocked Portland every night for weeks, with security forces often tear-gassing and clubbing demonstrators. Visiting the protest site, Wheeler was jeered at by some demonstrators who called on him to resign and chanted “Shame on You”. They said he should have done more to protect Portland’s citizens. However, as he stood amongst the crowd outside Portland’s Justice Center, Wheeler, who was wearing a face mask, was himself affected…