Cineworld confirms that all cinemas in the United Kingdom and the United States will be temporarily closed – business live | Deal

Good morning and welcome to our continued coverage of the global economy, financial markets, the eurozone and business.

We started with some breaking news – Chain of cinemas Cineworld just announced that it will temporarily suspend operations at all of its 536 Regal cinemas in the US and at its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse cinemas in the UK.

The decision was made following the lack of new films to appeal to audiences, including the new James Bond installment that was delayed twice (which was delayed until next year).

These closures will affect about 45,000 employees, says Cineworld, which employs about 5,500 people in the UK.

In a statement to the City, Cineworld blamed “an increasingly challenging theatrical landscape and sustained closures of key markets” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, with major movies delayed, you just can’t provide enough compelling new movies to attract viewers.

As an American Major. Markets, primarily New York, remained closed and without guidance on reopening time, studios have been reluctant to launch their portfolio of new films.

In turn, without these new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers in the US and UK, the company’s main markets, with the variety of robust commercial films necessary for them to consider returning to theaters with the COVID-19 backdrop.

The closings will begin this Thursday (October 8).

News of the closures broke out yesterday, sparking anger among staff upon learning of the plan from the newspapers.

The latest delay for the next James Bond movie was the final blow for Cineworld, which wrote to government ministers warning that the industry has become “unworkable” without big blockbusters drawing customers to the big screen again.

More details to follow …

Auto and service companies are also on the agenda today, as investors are also keeping an eye on the Walter Reed Military Medical Center for the latest news on Donald Trump’s health.

September is usually a very strong month for car sales in the UK, as drivers rush to buy a new license plate to impress their neighbors. But last month, sales fell 4% as the coronavirus crisis continued to affect demand.

Figures to be released at 9:00 am are expected to show that fewer than 330,000 new cars were sold in September, which would be the lowest in more than 20 years.

That would intensify concerns that the UK economy is struggling as it faces a harsh winter, with many travelers still working from home, and others fearing for their jobs.

We also obtain the final check-up of the companies in the service sector in September, from data firm IHS Markit. It is expected to show that services growth slowed in the UK and the US last month, and reversed in the eurozone.

Stock markets in Europe and the US are on track to open higher on signs that President Trump’s health is improving. There have already been gains in the Asia-Pacific markets overnight, including a 2.5% rise in Australia’s ASX index.

The final word from Washington is that Donald Trump “has continued to improve” since Saturday, after contracting Covid-19, and could be released on Monday.

Last night, Trump said he was receiving “ excellent reports ” from his doctors, before taking a trip to see the crowd in front of Walter Reed, a move that an emergency physician called shockingly irresponsible at the scene.

Trump was airlifted to Walter Reed on Friday night (after Wall Street shut down), less than a day after reporting his positive test, and received a series of treatments, from an experimental cocktail of antibodies to the steroid dexamethasone. .

So there is some confusion about your health, which will keep the markets on edge today.

The agenda

• 9 a. M. BST: UK car sales for September
• 9am BST: Eurozone Services Sector PMI Report for September
• 9.30am BST: UK Service Sector PMI Report for September
• 10am BST: Eurozone retail sales for August
• 2.45pm BST: September US Services PMI