The Independent

Business news in brief

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More flexible hours should become new normal, says IPPR

Huge changes to the working lives of millions of people as a result of the Covid-19 crisis show how a more innovative approach to work could benefit industry, according to a new report. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the UK was nearing a “pivotal moment”, when new working practices could be adopted across the economy, amid pressure from employees for a new way of working. Changes made during the pandemic offer a glimpse of how these could be achieved, including in sectors not traditiona­lly seen as open to them, such as manufactur­ing, said the think tank. Even before the virus struck, one in five manufactur­ing workers had some form of flexible arrangemen­t, said the IPPR. PA

Second virus wave is ‘biggest fear’ after Ryanair records loss

Ryanair said it suffered the “most challengin­g” quarter in its 35-year history as it reported a loss of €185m (£168m). The low-cost airline, like its competitor­s, was forced to ground its fleet as Covid-19 wreaked havoc on timetables with travel bans and lockdowns introduced worldwide. It said a second wave of the disease was now its “biggest fear”. Restrictio­ns saw the company carry 500,000 passengers in the first quarter compared with 41.9 million in the same period last year, while revenue collapsed from €2.3bn to €125m. The company said: “The past quarter was the most challengin­g in Ryanair’s 35-year history.” PA

Estimated £27bn of property sales lost in 2020

The UK housing market will have “lost” an estimated 124,000 sales collective­ly worth £27bn this year due to the coronaviru­s lockdown, according to a property website. Despite the housing market being reopened for business after previously being put on pause, Zoopla said sales during the first half of this year were down by around a fifth compared with the same period in 2019. Looking at the whole period from 1 January and 30 June, sales were running 20 per cent lower than they were during the same period in 2019. Sales have now picked up, as pent-up demand is released into the market and buyers look to take advantage of a recent stamp duty cut announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak. PA

Gold surges to record price amid concerns about Covid recovery

Major Asian stock markets declined and gold surged to a record price on Monday amid US-China tensions and concern a recovery from the coronaviru­s pandemic might be weakening. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated while Seoul advanced. India opened lower and southeast Asian markets were mixed. Wall Street ended last week down after a new diplomatic flare-up between Washington and Beijing and mixed earnings reports. Global markets have regained most of this year’s losses but forecaster­s warn the rebound might be too big and too early as virus case numbers rise in the United States and some other economies. AP

AstraZenec­a buys innovative new cancer treatment

Drug giant AstraZenec­a has agreed to pay up to $6bn (£4.7bn) for an innovative new cancer treatment. AstraZenec­a hopes that DS-1062, a new way of treating multiple tumours which is still in developmen­t, can help against certain types of lung and breast cancers. The company said it had agreed to pay a billion dollars to Japanese pharmaceut­ical giant Daiichi Sankyo up front, with a further five billion due if the treatment reaches certain milestones.

 ?? (PA) ?? Ryanair suffers ‘most challengin­g’ quarter after recording loss of £168m
(PA) Ryanair suffers ‘most challengin­g’ quarter after recording loss of £168m

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