RE: CINE-USA--AskPrice 65.78p- Tesco offers to help with rollout of Oxford vaccine30 Dec 2020 23:34
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Jace Tyrrell, chief executive at New West End Company, which represents businesses around Bond Street, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Mayfair, called on ministers to U-turn on plans to ban tax-free shopping for overseas visitors in the new year and warned that 40,000 jobs could go without a rethink.
Oxford Vaccine worldwide distribution
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said businesses need a clear exit strategy out of lockdown in addition to an extension of the business rates holiday and further VAT cuts.
She said: “We are staring down the barrel of sector collapse if there is nothing forthcoming.”
Ms Nicholls added that the industry is eager to help deliver jabs, estimating that up to 3,000 hotels, conference and exhibition centres could be on standby to act as vaccination centres.
She said: “This is the biggest crisis that most of us have lived through and it needs a public-private partnership to get things moving and for all stakeholders to come together to get us out of this limbo.”
Economists said the speed of the jab distribution will be crucial to the 2021 recovery, as regulatory approval of AstraZeneca’s vaccine adds to hopes that restrictions could be lifted by spring.
However, forecasters warned more areas being placed under the toughest Tier 4 restrictions will ramp up the pressure on the economy in the shorter term.
Paul Dales, of Capital Economics, said: “The real change in recent weeks has been the stricter restrictions. “If we change our forecasts in the coming weeks, it will probably be revising them down over the next few months.”
George Buckley, of Nomura, said: “The risk at the moment is that we get a worse January than we thought”.
Despite the grim forecasts, analysts at Jefferies predicted that investors could pump $36bn (£27bn) into UK stocks next year as the UK steals a march on the vaccine rollout and MPs’ approval of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal revives confidence.
Sean Darby, a strategist at the investment bank, said: “UK equity flows have been subdued since 2016 and the UK equity market has been a conspicuous under-performer.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “We understand the pressure businesses and individuals in affected areas are currently under, which is why we’re helping them through the pandemic with a £280bn support package.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/12/30/tesco-offers-help-roll-out-oxford-vaccine/