Coronavirus has all but halted the wheels of the Scottish, UK and global economies, with businesses large and small having shut up shop still uncertain of their future despite the welcome government programmes from Holyrood and Westminster.
There are still concerns over cross-border guidance differences and fears for the long-term future of of jobs.
Last week about 30,000 British Airways staff were placed on the firm’s own furlough system, while 22,000 posts at Debenhams were in question with news it is considering an administration move, among many other individuals affected in the sweeping blow to the labour force almost being lost in the count.
In this week’s Business Voices, renowned economics expert Jeremy Peat puts the scale of the coronavirus into cutting perspective.
He says: “Sadly, there has been no time in my 50-plus-year career as an economist when the outlook has involved anything like the bleakness that now prevails.”
In this week’s Monday Interview, Scott Wright speaks to banking giant Barclays’ Scottish chief Scott Stewart.
Construction of the bank’s new £400 million Buchanan Wharf campus in Glasgow has been temporarily put on hold because of the crisis, along with sites across the industry.
In Mark Williamson’s SME Focus, a Scottish tour guide tells how he plans the post-Covid-19 fightback after business dried up overnight. He admits: “The coronavirus crisis is the worst moment.”
Also this week, Tesco chief Dave Lewis is expected to guide the supermarket giant to higher profits in his final full-year leading the firm.
It is predicted to post a surge in pre-tax profits to £1.85 billion for the year to February, up from £1.56 billion last year.
It will be the final full-year for Mr Lewis, who has been credited with stabilising Tesco in his nearly six years in the role, before he heads for the exit.
Shares in Tesco are largely in line with its position twelve months ago, despite the FTSE 100 diving in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Supermarket stocks, such as Tesco, have been broadly resilient as panic buying of essential items, such as pasta, flour and toilet roll, has helped to drive a surge in sales.
Russ Mould, at investment platform AJ Bell, said that the jump in sales has provided "some respite from the market share war with Aldi and Lidl as punters flock through (Tesco's) doors so they can stock up".
Grocers dealt with record levels of demand in March, according to figures from Kantar.
The survey showed that Tesco sales were particularly strong, jumping 5.5%, behind Sainsbury's which was the best performer among the traditional four supermarkets.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said: "With the largest UK online grocery business and the broadest network of distribution points, we also believe Tesco is best positioned to respond to any demand spikes related to Covid-19''.
Experts have predicted that the ordinary dividend will jump 10% to 9.13p per share.
Analysts at Exane BN Paribas said that this set of results was originally likely to be "quite a dull update", until coronavirus hit.
They added: "Whilst it is well understood that the food retailers have seen a surge in sales as a result of Covid-19, the impact on earnings and the longer-term is more complicated."
Although they have been buoyed by high sales in recent weeks, supermarkets such as Tesco are likely to start feeling the pinch when their staff start calling in sick, the analysts said.
Alliance Pharma and Homeserve finals are due on Tuesday, Tesco's on Wednesday, along with Asos' interims.
On Thursday, Fevertree Drinks' finals are due, the monthly GDP figures and UK trade data for February to be published by the Office for National Statistics along with the weekly coronavirus economic impact figures.
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