well there's more evidence today of the
devastating impact that the pandemic is
having on business and the economy the
retailer next has warned that sales
could drop by 40 percent and Barclays
Bank has reported a substantial drop in
profits and said that the cost of people
defaulting on loans could be more than
two billion pounds our economics editor
Faisal Islam has this assessment it is a
corporate result season like no other
grim forecasts for the economy coming to
life in the accounts of our biggest
companies such as retailer next where
store sales plunged 52 percent over the
past three months and the company
acknowledged it will be some time before
shopping returns to normal and Barclays
is one of the UK's largest banks
announcing a 38 percent fall in profits
and warning the pandemic could cost them
over 2 billion pounds in bad loans it's
boss questioning whether after the
coronavirus putting thousands of people
in office block headquarters would be a
thing of the past despite government
subsidies Lubner and hundreds of other
Debenhams workers lost their jobs via a
conference call when the already
struggling retailer went into
administration and had to close some
stores people be able to apply for a job
given their current circumstance for me
I don't know it was like for me from
someone my exams had been cancelled this
year so I'm unsure and I'm getting into
uni law so it just seemed like even more
bad news for me because I was thinking
in my head at least I'll have a job
there certainly is the same anger
amongst many British Airways employees
after they announced a dramatic decision
to cut 12,000 jobs touching that the
crisis would change this industry
forever we think that there are
alternative solutions and we think that
alternative solutions remain on the
table so we can't understand why ba has
started the clock ticking on a
consultation for a situation that
actually if we get round the table and
have a discussion could be avoided
early hopes that the crisis would be a
very sharp blip or starting to fade
particularly in the most affected
industries empty planes in empty runways
mean empty passenger terminals empty
shops and restaurants empty car parks
and four sectors such as travel
companies are now planning on the basis
of a pandemic crisis lasting longer than
two or three months no instant
bounce-back in the economy tough
decisions having to be made right now
the government is pouring money into the
economy to provide a bridge but some
leading companies on the high streets
and in the skies already judging that
the other side of this crisis will be a
very different place indeed Faisal Islam
BBC News
the world's biggest economy the USA has
recorded its worst growth figures in a
decade during the first quarter of this
year gross domestic product that's the
value of all goods and services produced
fell by 4.8% now as a comparison in the
fourth quarter of last year before the
pandemic GDP increased by 2.1 percent
our North America correspondent Nick
Bryant is in New York with the latest
for us these figures show what we've
already seen with our own eyes which is
the American economy has come to a
shuddering halt and worse is still to
come some economists believed that the
next quarter could see a contraction of
30 percent the kind of convulsion that
we haven't seen since the 1930s now the
Federal Reserve said tonight that it
would keep its benchmark interest rates
at near zero until the US economy
recovers and governors across America
are going to come under heightened
pressure to gradually open up the
economies but in cities like New York
that's a risky thing to do New York is a
city caught between dread and desire
desperate to open up after six weeks in
lockdown but fearful of the fatal
consequences of doing so too soon a New
York without New Yorkers has hammered
the economy it's tourism and hospitality
sectors have also been decimated
Wall Street America's financial hub
fears the onset of another Great
Depression but even though the city is
past the peak of its outbreak the
density of its population makes it
especially hazardous to quickly open up
that covert conundrum it's like I can't
even wrap my head around it it's
incredible Steve Marbella runs a road
building firm in Staten Island which he
fears will be bankrupt by June
he's a Trump supporter who believes the
Democrats who run New York at being too
cautious if I'm not working in this
economy he's not opened up and these
fear mongers don't back off where they
got everybody scared to death we all go
out of business
Steve is a vicious virus I've had it
myself you accept that and I'm sorry to
hear that the reality of it is people
are gonna continue to get sick I don't
think they're gonna continue to get sick
at any alarming rate we're seeing more
beggars on new york streets
this is Harlem a mainly african-american
community severely hit by this health
and economic contagion and this is
upscale Soho the home of high-end retail
boarded up like a hurricane is about to
rip through which economically it has
every single shutdown day but public
health officials such as Daniel in pod
who live in these communities warned
against the rush to reopen people are
hurting financially they're struggling
to feed their families but we really
need to take this slow because I would
hate for us to have to shut down the
economy again if we get more cases this
is one of the most impatient cities in
the world they talk about the New York
minute it means right now immediately
without hesitation but although some
parts of this state could start the
gradual process of reopening in mid-may
here in New York City the tough
restrictions will remain in place
certainly for weeks and maybe for many
months every night at nine o'clock the
Empire State Building is illuminated in
a red and white siren light to honor the
emergency workers providing care it's a
ritual that will continue until this
crisis is over but that's the
unanswerable question when will New York
return to being New York Nick Brandt BBC
News New York