Sir Vince Cable, who led the privatisation of Royal Mail in 2013, said a reduction to executive pay was the socially-responsible thing to do after bosses axed the dividend last month.

Primark's owner Associated British Foods said it has furloughed 68,000 Primark workers across Europe and looking to start discussions with landlords to seek help with their lease payments.

Anglo-Australian miner BHP said global steel production - excluding China - could drop sharply this year due to the pandemic. Steel is often seen as an economic bellwether.

The former state monopoly decided to cancel its final payout to investors last month, to help bolster the balance sheet.

Brent crude, which is extracted from the North Sea and serves as an international benchmark, fell to $18.10 a barrel.

On a day of wild swings on global markets, brent crude briefly fell below $16 a barrel - the lowest level this century. It later recovered, surging 10 per cent to more than $21 last night.

The utility giant was among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 after US investment bank Jefferies downgraded its stock from 'buy' to 'hold' and slashed earnings forecasts by a third.

Councils have handed out £6.1bn, almost half the £12.3bn they received from Government this month. Grants of up to £25,000 have been received by 491,725 small businesses

Taylor Wimpey was the top riser on the FTSE 100 after it said it was still selling homes virtually, adding its order book was at £2.7bn at the end of last week, up from £2.4bn the same time last year.

Chief exec Alan Jope said he expects the pandemic to prompt lasting changes in behaviour, with strong demand for cleaning products set to continue while the dining industry could face a slow recovery.

From the market low on 18 March to the start of the Easter weekend on 9 April, junior market-listed firms announced over £500million of funding.

The education group will hand back £102m to shareholders - or 13.5p per share - after boss John Fallon insisted the company was in a 'strong financial position'.

Sales at the US lingerie business have suffered as shoppers shy away from the brand, which is embodied by the scantily clad models who perform in its annual show.

Critics of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme have urged Rishi Sunak to increase the guarantee from the current level of 80 per cent to 100 per cent.

With oil prices tumbling, investors will be glued to the first-quarter results due out from BP and Shell on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Andrew Murphy, John Lewis Partnership's executive director of operations, said the chain could begin reopening some stores as soon as the middle of next month.

Analysts are predicting it will unveil first-quarter sales of around £59 billion. But the retail giant has been accused of abandoning fraud victims by closing a crucial helpline.

The retailer announced it would reopen its Lancashire textiles factory to make 8,000 washable gowns for Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust over four weeks.

Novacyt has inked a deal with the Department of Health to provide it with 288,000 tests a week. And Omega Diagnostics has made fresh strides in the race to roll out antibody tests.

Royal Mail is poised to benefit from the new reliance on web sales. Citigroup Analysts bestowed a rare double upgrade on the 504-year-old postal service, moving it from 'sell' to 'buy'.

While the group got off to a strong start this year, social distancing, Government lockdown interventions and economic uncertainty have started to take their toll.

It is thought that the brand, founded by make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury, 47, (pictured to the right of human rights lawyer Amal Clooney) could fetch more than £1bn.

Over the last 17 years Rolls (pictured) and his business partner, chief exec Tim Warrillow , have transformed the market for tonic waters - and created a stock market darling.

Amazon is expected to report profits of more than £7500 a second, meaning founder Jeff Bezos (pictured with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez) has added billions of dollars to his personal fortune.

Laxman Narasimhan, chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, said sales of condoms had been hit in the UK and Italy - but not in China, where restrictions are being lifted.

Stephen Lansdown found the company's stock was so sought after that, when he launched his latest sale of shares, he had to increase the amount up for grabs twice.

As the economic toll of lockdown starts to rear its ugly head, employment, new orders and output in the sector fell at the fastest pace for 28 years last month.

The fast food business's 1,350 restaurants have been closed since the Government brought in lockdown measures in March due to concerns over staff and customer safety.

According to the FTSE All-World Index, which measures the performance of thousands of companies around the world, global stocks grew at their highest monthly level in nine years.

The IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index gave a reading of 33.4 in April - significantly below the 50 mark which indicates activity was flat.

Carnival has been asked to give all the documents relating to the pandemic and its response to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Serial investor Vin Murria, an adviser at Hgcapital, bought 13.25 per cent of the AIM-listed company's shares on April 30, according to a stock market announcement yesterday.

Vue boss Tim Richards is 'hopeful' that venues can be open in time for the release date of Nolan's new film, Tenet (starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, pictured) on July 17.

The grocer said its decision to stop people ordering bottled mineral water helped it complete 6,000 extra orders a week.

The Lloyd's of London insurer was a top FTSE 250 riser after placing the 57.6m shares, priced at 650p. This was 6 per cent cheaper than its share price the day before the fundraising launched.

FTSE 100 closed up 1.4 per cent or 82.22 points at 5,935.98 and the pound was at $1.23 against the dollar.

The FTSE-listed group will struggle after the number of hours its engines spent flying in April fell by 90 per cent. Across the first four months of the year, flying hours dropped 40 per cent.

Does it really make sense for pensioners who, directly or indirectly, rely on their income from dividends to have those incomes further cut by Bank of England diktat?

Under chief exec Charles Woodburn, 49, BAE Systems is fighting a very different war against the deadly coronavirus and is turning its formidable engineering expertise to helping the NHS.

From temperature tests on arrival to face masks and two-metre distancing, this is the first glimpse of how manufacturing in Britain could look in the wake of the lockdown.

Cutifani will be given the 226,879 shares in 2025 if he and the firm hit targets. The Australian, 61, has led the FTSE 100-listed miner, which bought Sirius Minerals this year, since 2013.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to rethink the Government's original coronavirus Loan Scheme after thousands of small businesses warned they would go bust without quick access to cash.

Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez limped off with an apparent hamstring injury during Chile's Copa America defeat to Argentina on Saturday night.

Alexis Sanchez agreed to a new Arsenal contract before staging a last minute U-turn, according to the club's former transfer negotiator Dick Law.

CHRIS WHEELER IN PERTH: In a wide-ranging interview, the Manchester United manager discusses Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez and the problem of 'spoon feeding' modern-day footballers.

CHRIS WHEELER IN PERTH: Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola have made no secret of his desire to leave, but Solskjaer believes he can motivate United's record signing to be a key player.

JOE BERNSTEIN: With world-class players at a premium, the news that David De Gea is set to sign a new contract at Old Trafford gives Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a massive boost during a difficult period.

Alex Sanchez began his pre-season with Manchester United three weeks after his Chile side suffered defeat by Argentina in the Copa America third place play-off.

The Chilean international, who is currently nursing a hamstring injury, returned to his car in Wilmslow after taking a train from London, only to discover that a parking warden had paid it a visit.

With Manchester United's pre-season in full flow, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez have been enjoying their time away from the preparations as they shared a laugh at Carrington.