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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/mar/05/flybe-collapses-into-administration-coronavirus-cost-ftse-stock-markets-business-live
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| Coronavirus crisis drags down Flybe; HSBC evacuates staff – business live | Coronavirus crisis drags down Flybe; HSBC evacuates staff – business live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The coronavirus’s grip on the UK economy deepens as regional airline Flybe collapses, and experts fear others will follow | The coronavirus’s grip on the UK economy deepens as regional airline Flybe collapses, and experts fear others will follow |
| Here’s our news story about HSBC’s Covid-19 infection: | |
| Business leaders then quizzed Matt Hancock about the government’s plans to protect the economy from the coronavirus. | |
| One pointed out that venues, such as Newmarket racecourse, will suffer -- how will restaurants, for example, recover lost business? After all.... | |
| The health secretary replies that protecting the economy is a “very important consideration”, although the top priority is to keep people safe. There are a “range of options” to support businesses and supply chains if needed. | |
| Hancock insists the government is following the advice from scientists,. The UK didn’t ban flights from China because the experts said it would not be effective. | |
| The only country that ignored that advice was Italy, Hancock says pointedly. | |
| So on large events, the current scientific advice is that there is no material, epidemiological benefit to cancelling events, as long as people obey the medical advice to wash hands, and catch a sneeze in a tissue. | |
| And ultimately, Hancock adds: | |
| UK health secretary Matt Hancock is speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual meeting in London now. | |
| Hancock tells the assembled business people that the weeks ahead will be tough, as there is unlikely to be a vaccine available in the next few months. | |
| He explains the government has been trying to contain Covid-19, by detecting people infected and tracking down those they have spent time with. But it may not be able to contain the virus forever, especially if cases continue to rise in Europe. | |
| When that happens, Britain will move to the “delay” phase of its plans. | |
| There are now 85 confirmed cases in the UK, so shutting down all the schools and universities would not bring clinical benefits but would have major social and economic costs, Hancock adds. | |
| Across the country, readers are evaluating the impact Flybe’s collapse will have on regional travel, both for work or to visit family, my colleague Jessica Murray reports. | |
| Mike Green, 29, was due to fly from Aberdeen with Flybe this morning and is now facing a six-and-a-half hour train journey back to Manchester. | |
| Green, a manager at an oil and gas company, regularly travels with the airline to more remote areas of the UK including Aberdeen, Inverness, south Wales and Southampton where FlyBe is the leading carrier. | |
| With the airline now gone, he doesn’t know if this will be able to continue. | |
| Green says: | |
| He added the decentralised nature of the oil and gas industry means communication could be tricky without the reliability of Flybe’s service. | |
| For Hayley Anderton, 46, in Leicester, Flybe’s collapse means she may no longer be able to visit elderly father who lives in Shetland, or her father-in-law in Inverness, as often. | |
| She would fly from Birmingham up to Aberdeen or Inverness around four times a year to visit her relatives. | |
| “I don’t like taking short-haul flights but on a limited income and without a car it’s been the only feasible option to get to northern Scotland,” Anderton said. | |
| She is now looking at trains which are three times the cost of the previous flights and take much longer - a train from Birmingham to Inverness takes eight or nine hours. | |
| “It makes getting somewhere like Shetland from the Midlands a 24-hour journey. I guess it’s the same for a lot of regional airports around the UK that people who relied on those flights are going to struggle perhaps for work and definitely for seeing family. | |
| Anderton added that she actually considered moving up to Inverness with her partner last year, but when Flybe first ran into trouble in January she reconsidered. | |
| The incident at HSBC comes as City firms prepare to let more staff work from home. | The incident at HSBC comes as City firms prepare to let more staff work from home. |
| They already have contingency plans for an epidemic -- including splitting teams up so that everyone doesn’t catch the virus at the same time. | They already have contingency plans for an epidemic -- including splitting teams up so that everyone doesn’t catch the virus at the same time. |
| They’re also getting ready for an explosion in remote working, although the Financial Times reports that there are concerns: | They’re also getting ready for an explosion in remote working, although the Financial Times reports that there are concerns: |
| HSBC has evacuated a floor of its Canary Wharf office after an employee was feared to have caught coronavirus. | HSBC has evacuated a floor of its Canary Wharf office after an employee was feared to have caught coronavirus. |
| The bank has ordered a deep clean of the area, which houses its research department, a source said. | The bank has ordered a deep clean of the area, which houses its research department, a source said. |
| It has so far not affected HSBC’s trading floor, which carries out large transactions on financial markets for big institutions.The evacuation was first reported by Financial News. | It has so far not affected HSBC’s trading floor, which carries out large transactions on financial markets for big institutions.The evacuation was first reported by Financial News. |
| Newsflash: Pioneering low-cost airline Southwest has just issued a warning about coronavirus. | Newsflash: Pioneering low-cost airline Southwest has just issued a warning about coronavirus. |
| Southwest, which basically created the budget airline model in the early 1970s, says customers demand has declined. | Southwest, which basically created the budget airline model in the early 1970s, says customers demand has declined. |
| It fears the crisis will wipe $200m-$300m off its operating revenues this quarter. | It fears the crisis will wipe $200m-$300m off its operating revenues this quarter. |
| Aviation minister Kelly Tolhurst also told MPs that the government “stands ready” to support the regional airports that will be hit by Flybe’s collapse. | |
| Tolhurst does have one piece of good news - Scotland’s Loganair has committed to keep 16 Flybe routes running. | Tolhurst does have one piece of good news - Scotland’s Loganair has committed to keep 16 Flybe routes running. |
| In parliament, transport minister Kelly Tolhurst is giving a statement on Flybe’s collapse. | In parliament, transport minister Kelly Tolhurst is giving a statement on Flybe’s collapse. |
| She says the government has been working “tirelessly” with Flybe’s owners since January (when the firm nearly collapsed). | She says the government has been working “tirelessly” with Flybe’s owners since January (when the firm nearly collapsed). |
| Ministers are reviewing Air Passenger Duty, to see how it can support the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, Tolhurst adds. | Ministers are reviewing Air Passenger Duty, to see how it can support the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, Tolhurst adds. |
| She explains that existing problems at Flybe have been compounded by the coronavirus outbreak, which had a “signifiant impact on demand’. As such, the directors decided it did not have a viable future. | She explains that existing problems at Flybe have been compounded by the coronavirus outbreak, which had a “signifiant impact on demand’. As such, the directors decided it did not have a viable future. |
| Tolhurst explains: | Tolhurst explains: |
| Tolhurst says there is sufficient capacity on other airlines to bring Flybe passengers home, and is pleased to see some airlines such as easyJet are offering rescue fares | Tolhurst says there is sufficient capacity on other airlines to bring Flybe passengers home, and is pleased to see some airlines such as easyJet are offering rescue fares |
| Flybe passengers should not got to the airport, she continues - they should look at the Civil Aviation Authorities website instead. | Flybe passengers should not got to the airport, she continues - they should look at the Civil Aviation Authorities website instead. |
| And she expresses “sincere sympathy to those who have lost their jobs”, including cabin crew and ground staff. It is a worrying time for them and their families. | And she expresses “sincere sympathy to those who have lost their jobs”, including cabin crew and ground staff. It is a worrying time for them and their families. |
| Finally, Tolhurst reveals she will hold a meeting with the airline industry to discuss coronavirus’s impact next week. | Finally, Tolhurst reveals she will hold a meeting with the airline industry to discuss coronavirus’s impact next week. |
| European stock markets have fallen sharply this morning, as fears of a global downturn rise again. | European stock markets have fallen sharply this morning, as fears of a global downturn rise again. |
| The FTSE 100 index has dropped by over 1.5%, wiping out Wednesday’s recovery, as shares continue to whip-saw around. | The FTSE 100 index has dropped by over 1.5%, wiping out Wednesday’s recovery, as shares continue to whip-saw around. |
| Investors appear to jumping between pessimism about a global recession, and optimism that policymakers will announce stimulus measures to avert it. | Investors appear to jumping between pessimism about a global recession, and optimism that policymakers will announce stimulus measures to avert it. |
| Yesterday the Dow Jones industrial average surged by 4.5%, or 1173 points, but pessimism now has the upper hand: | Yesterday the Dow Jones industrial average surged by 4.5%, or 1173 points, but pessimism now has the upper hand: |
| Financial data firm MSCI fear Wall Street could tumble by another 10% in the short term, warning: | Financial data firm MSCI fear Wall Street could tumble by another 10% in the short term, warning: |
| The global spread of coronavirus is already affecting global growth. We’ve conducted a what-if scenario analysis that assumes a short-term drop in growth of 2 percentage points and a risk-premium increase of 2 percentage points. | The global spread of coronavirus is already affecting global growth. We’ve conducted a what-if scenario analysis that assumes a short-term drop in growth of 2 percentage points and a risk-premium increase of 2 percentage points. |
| Our model indicates that, in such a scenario, there’s room for further short-term losses: U.S. equities — already down 11% from Feb. 19 through March 3 — could drop a further 11%, while a hypothetical 60/40 global multi-asset-class portfolio could lose another 7%. | Our model indicates that, in such a scenario, there’s room for further short-term losses: U.S. equities — already down 11% from Feb. 19 through March 3 — could drop a further 11%, while a hypothetical 60/40 global multi-asset-class portfolio could lose another 7%. |
| In other travel news, the British Chambers of Commerce has called on the government should press ahead with Heathrow expansion. | In other travel news, the British Chambers of Commerce has called on the government should press ahead with Heathrow expansion. |
| Speaking at the BCC’s annual conference in London, director general Adam Marshall said a third runway should be a broad agenda of infrastructure spending. | Speaking at the BCC’s annual conference in London, director general Adam Marshall said a third runway should be a broad agenda of infrastructure spending. |
| It must also pump more money into trade support “to give a leg up to the many thousands of companies whose overseas efforts will make global Britain a reality,” Marshall added. | It must also pump more money into trade support “to give a leg up to the many thousands of companies whose overseas efforts will make global Britain a reality,” Marshall added. |