this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and tim wilcox. don't go to the theatre, cinema or pub. the message from the british prime minister. but how will businesses cope? live from london, that's our top story on tuesday 17 march. it's a similar picture across europe, governments tra ke drastic measures to fight the pandemic. the spanish military are on the streets, while france bans people from leaving their homes. also in the programme. the city that never sleeps shuts down. we visit the empty

streets of new york city. the best of business, how one leading beverage brand is turning its tipple into much—needed hand sanitiser. and we'll be getting the inside track on the plight of small businesses, what should the government do? we ask one of britain's best known businessmenjohn caudwell, the founder of phones au. as britain is set to announces more measures to help struggling firms we want to how's it all affecting your life and work? the founder of phones au. let us know, just use the hashtag bbcworklife. hello and welcome to worklife. a warm welcome to the programme. we start in the uk, where the government will today announce more financial measures to help the economy during the outbreak, amid warnings the latest restrictions could put firms out of business. on monday, the prime ministers borisjohnson announced a dramatic increase in restrictions and precautions.

uk finance minister rishi sunak will announces those measures to help firms later today. this comes after several big manufacturers announce shutdowns in their european operations, including vauxhall‘s parent psa group and fiat chrysler. in france, president macron announced a ban on people leaving their homes, unless it's essential. and, in the past hour, finance minister bruno le maire has announced a 50 billion dollar aid package for businesses. the government is forecasting a one—percent drop in gross domestic product for 2020, in other words the economy shrinking. hugh schofield joins us live from paris. tell us more about the announcement today, helpful businesses in france? it's part of an ongoing programme of help that the government has been

announcing. yesterday president macron said there would be a 300 billion euros loan guarantee from the government to banks so that companies, big and small, can continue to operate. then there is this money which is going to be given today, i'm not sure in quite what form, but we have had some ideas already. for example, any company whose staff have to go on temporary unemployment will have the salaries that they continue to pay reimbursed by the government. small companies that find themselves likely to go under will be able to defer payment of their social charges, taxes, gas and electricity bills, all of this will add up and come to a very important bill which the government is saying, we will put this. the watchword from macron yesterday and from the finance

minister today is, whatever it costs, we will pay. the government is quite clear that they want the country to come out of the end of this able to function and with companies are still in a good state with their staff are still in employment even if they have been idle for the previous one or two months. thank you so much. hugh schofield in paris, with what the french are doing. in the uk, we're expecting fresh measures to help stricken businesses. with us now is edwin morgan, director of policy at the institute of directors. not very much has been allocated so far so it will be interesting to see what happens later on today. how is business going to cope with the shutdown? i think it's going to be very, shut —— very difficult. clearly things has been moving very fast, one of the complaint has been that we had this huge announcement very late yesterday and it has been moving faster than the government has prepared us. industries like

hospitality in particular, they have said, they have given us this halfway position, do we have to close, what about insurance?m halfway position, do we have to close, what about insurance? it is a suggestion, we havejust heard in france, that is a blank cheque. the measures that the french announced seem to be much more substantial so we would be looking for something big from the chancellor this afternoon. what do you think they can offer in terms of help? there are can offer in terms of help? there a re lots of can offer in terms of help? there are lots of ideas last year, now what was announced in the budget last week sounds like a drop in the ocean. we have two things, additional measures so things like holidays and business rates, vat, employs national insurance would be welcome. at the same time, things that were and as such are not up and running, a loan scheme from the british business bank which is government owned, it has been announced but it's not available yet. so just accelerating that are making the stuff out of the door so businesses can get it now. should the government instead of suggesting actually be making decisions?

because then insurance policies would kick in, how much is that playing into it? the message last night from pubs, restaurant and theatre's etc is very clear, they needed the firm rule on closing. because then they have ways of compensation. absolutely. because if theatres are close to several months, that could cause them to go under if they have no financial assistance. absolutely, we are looking at the situation if lots of businesses are closed for a substantial amount of time, their ability to survive, if they don't get assistance, is really in doubt. easter holidays coming up, no demand from the government he had to pull children out of school —— yet to pull children out of school. presumably they are trying to delay that because the knock—on impact for business would be huge, with working pa rents business would be huge, with working parents having to look after children? absolutely, it will be very difficult for companies to manage. we represent individual directors and they are faced by a

huge number of choices, they have employees to manage, and people will have to be flexible with childcare. their supplies, have to be flexible with childcare. theirsupplies, continuing have to be flexible with childcare. their supplies, continuing to pay them, companies working together. 0ne them, companies working together. one of the worrying thing is, our larger companies going to slow payments to smaller suppliers? we would say, no, everyone has to pull together, the government has to provide, the big firepower that only the government has to do, but eve ryo ne the government has to do, but everyone has to act responsibly. think of the end of this, we will get through this and in the meantime, we can't. .. get through this and in the meantime, we can't... just get through this and in the meantime, we can't. .. just when, thatis meantime, we can't. .. just when, that is the question! more travel restrictions in asia in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. hong kong has announce all arrivals into the territory will be placed into 14 days quarentine, the phillippines has also imposed travel restrictions and in malaysia, the government will bar people crossing its border into singapore. sharenjit leyl is in singpore.

that's right, i literallyjust got back from filming the bridge on that divide, singapore and malaysia, it was bumper—to—bumper traffic, people making their way from malaysia to singapore, it was traffic that had built up for hours. and this is amongst the busiest border crossing in the world, that's after the government banned all visitors and residents from travelling overseas. an estimated 350,000 people a day commute between malaysia and singapore for work. many people work in singapore and live in malaysia. we know singapore is taking steps to open dormitories and hotels formulation workers who are based here but it's notjust workers. malaysia support a lot of singapore pozmack food needs, so the trade minister had to reassure people that they have done enough to ensure

supplies. let's take a look at how the markets are faring. it was another black monday. dramatic losses across the world. you can see it illustrated by the dow at the bottom of the screen. that is how the dow ended on monday. that is how the dow ended on monday. that reflects what is happening in asia, a very flat session as people do not know where to go. we are seeing slight gains across europe, paris has been boosted by the action taken at government level. the finance minister saying there is more money in the pot to support businesses under pressure. in the uk, we are waiting for similar measures. look at the pound, against the dollar, very low. $1.22 at the

moment. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. staying with the coronavirus outbreak, new zealand has launched a stimulus package to to fight the effects of the pandemic on the economy. the $7.3 billion package includes covering wages for people who are required to self—isolate but cannot work from home, and those caring for relatives who are sick with the virus. the us treasury secretary steven mnuchin says he is seeking a "big number" for an additional stimulus package intended to prop up the economy amid the covid—i9 outbreak, but he did not elaborate. republican senator, marco rubio, says mr mnuchin wants lawmakers to move on an additional measure targeting airlines and small businesses this week. amazon has said it will hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the us to deal with a surge in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

the online retail giant also said it would increase pay for its staff in the uk, us and europe. time now for our daily look at some of the newspaper and website stories which have caught our eye. joining me is allyson stewart—allen, chief executive of marketing consultancy, international marketing partners. lovely to see you. you too. this story in the financial times, european distillers tend to make sanitiser to tackle the shortage. gin and tonic off the menu, not interested , gin and tonic off the menu, not interested, we just want to keep ourselves clean right now. absolutely, may bejen and tonic will be renamed gems and something else! jan and terminator! some of these spirits are probably better as a sanitiser! the challenge is that you have to do naturalise it, you cannot drink it. and in order to

make that, you have to be licensed. 0ne make that, you have to be licensed. one of the challenges is, can the distillers get licenses to create alcohol that we can use on our hands and in hospitals, schools, etc? what strikes me most about this story is that we have perfumery is in france as well as alcohol makers, chatting and getting involved. —— interestingly they are getting involved. perfume makers know how to make alcohol for this purpose, it proves how innovative we can be when we need to be. how easy is it to do, is it straightforward? the alcoholic beverage industry, gin, whiskey, vodka, white spirit in particular, already have 96% alcohol on hand. you don't need that, according to

who, it is 60%, which is effective against the virus. if you already have stock of 96% alcohol on hand, you can cut that to a 60% solution fairly easily. the guardian is looking at another angle to this story, easter wedding bells off as the couples come to terms with coronavirus. it talks about the length of time, cost and energy plano wedding and i have to say when i read this, i thought about my nephew who is getting married in june, his fiancee has cancelled her hen party in paris, it is a small issue but it is a big deal. so many people are travelling all over the world, 40 years ago, you wouldn't have people flying in for a wedding from all over. now it is an international affair. of course, because people of all over the world, a wedding is an excuse to reunite families, and now we are

dislocated with self isolation and mandatory quarantine, a wedding is an opportunity in many minds to bring families together. the sad pa rt bring families together. the sad part of all of this is that all of the auxiliary services around weddings, cake designers, tuxedo hire, dress makers and retailers, the cakes, the wedding planners, there's a whole industry around the wedding. most of those people are self—employed. so this is going to bea self—employed. so this is going to be a tricky part. i wonder if the bride and groom who may or may not have thoughts to take out insurance coverfor have thoughts to take out insurance cover for something have thoughts to take out insurance coverfor something like have thoughts to take out insurance cover for something like this, have thoughts to take out insurance coverfor something like this, they would not have foreseen this, but whether it would be covered anyway in an insurance policy. it an act of god, isn't it? yes, many other services are seen as force majeure, act of god. the boarders are going to open on april three, may be if you have got something in may... or

june. hang in there? we hope so. thank you so much for taking us through the papers. let's see what is coming up, the harsh economic impact of this outbreak. we will hear how companies should be held and assisted by the government. —— helped and assisted. the impact of coronavirus will mean the uk economy will have its weakest growth in almost 30 years. the british chambers of commerce is prediciting that, not including the 2008 financial crisis, growth will be subdued and wants the government to boost the ecomony. adam marshall is the director general of the bcc.

just looking at the figures, it is interesting to me you're talking about subdued, but not that much, your original prediction was i% and your original prediction was i% and you have reduced it to not .8%? yes, of course much can happen in 24 hours and this is an evolving situation. it is our hope in everyone's hope that the impact on the economy is helped —— felt more in the first half of the year and business can start to return to normal in the second—half of this financial year. bearing normal in the second—half of this financialyear. bearing in mind what we are already seeing in the past few days, it's not going to be not .2%, it could be much more? of course, any situation is possible at the moment. which is why we are saying this morning that everyone needs to start to do more. the government has to do more, it has to come forward today with additional packages of support for business, to support cash flow in particular. you have a lot of companies out there

who will have tax bills coming due ona who will have tax bills coming due on a monthly or quarterly basis who will find it difficult to pay them, the government has to look at a holiday for businesses around rates, national insurance, and around vat. but also banks are going to have to do more. financial institutions will have to do everything they can to support the real economy through what is probably the most difficult period we have seen since the 2009 financial crisis. we are out of time, we will leave it there. another one of many voices saying that the government needs to do more to support businesses. we will hear from the chancellor in a few minutes. we will see a lot of

things. another story here, carphone warehouse, carphone warehouse is going to close many stores. you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story: don't go to the theatre, cinema or pub... the message from the british prime minister. but how will businesses cope? now to the us, where america's largest city, new york city, is closing bars and restaurants and telling people to stay home because of the outbreak. while necessary, it will have a devastating impact on the big apple's economy. here's samira hussain. the city that never sleeps is grinding to a halt. despite 8 million people living here, there are very few people roaming the streets of manhattan. during the lunch hour rush, this food court would normally be packed. city officials have closed all public schools and have instructed restaurants to do

the same, and offer only takeaway or delivery. movie theatres, bars and gyms are all shut and could be for a very long time. as people work from home, local businesses are already bearing the brunt. no business. zero business. this is supposed to be my rush hour. this is the time to make money. it's not making money, and even its not covering my costs. i'm really, i don't have any imagination what i'm going to do for my bills, for my life, it's very, very, very bad time. the coronavirus will inflict a massive amount of damage on new york city's economy, with officials estimating a loss of more than $3 billion in tax revenue in the next six months. we are on a path that is a trajectory that does not look positive. i believe it's more likely we could be in a recession today

than it was a couple of months ago, a couple of weeks ago. i think that we have to have all hands on deck now, we're going to need help from the federal government. but the federal government remains absent with no new bill to shield americans from the economic fallout of the coronavirus. for now, though, one famous new york gathering spot remains open, the new york stock exchange. traders on the floor are not having a very good time as financial markets continue their freefall. the moves to close america's largest city may be necessary to preserve public health, and the health system. there is very little doubt that it will have a devastating impact on the health of this city and the country's economy. samira hussain, bbc news, new york. working from home, self—quarantine, cancelled sporting events, all new measures aimed to stem the coronavirus outbreak. social distancing may help

mitigate the pandemic, but it's bad news for companies that rely on foot traffic and social gatherings to make ends meet. so how bad is the problem for businesses and the economy? well, let's ask our next guest, john caudwell. he's the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who co—founded the mobile phone retailer phones 4u. we are in tough times. if the government doing enough? we haven't had the blank check that the french have offered. we haven't got a clue until the chancellor announces stuff today, but i suspect not. it's vital that the chancellor this afternoon tells all businesses that their position will be protected throughout this coronavirus, as if the coronavirus didn't exist. in other words, to be left in a position at the end of the coronavirus to be able to fight

back. i don't believe the government should take profits, but what they should take profits, but what they should do is protect the capital base of the business so it doesn't go under. if they don't do that, depending on how the virus lasts, there will be potentially millions of unemployed. and thousands or tens of unemployed. and thousands or tens of thousands of businesses going under. and the devastation post coronavirus will be just too severe to even contemplate. so we must take really, really drastic action and guarantee to leave businesses in a strong position to fight back post corona. what about the argument that the strain on public spending would be to great later? we might rescue businesses now but we will pay later. i'm never an advocate of government borrowing, i think it is too great at the moment. but there

are times, this is the one time other than the 2008 crash, where government borrowing has to save the day. the cost to the exchequer of not doing this action will be way, way greater than making the action. so, yes, i estimate government borrowing might go up to the 2 trillion bracket, only a rough estimate because i don't know how much longer the virus will last. if it lasts according to most estimates, is probably going to be potentially £200 billion that needs injecting. if they don't do that, the cost society in the long run will be way more, and the cost of human suffering, not health suffering, but financial suffering, will be devastating. that's much more than the chancellor has been talking about. just onto that point, it is important. we don't need to talk about limits, 20 billion, 50 billion or 200 billion, we need to say is, whatever the disaster of

this virus, we will cover it. if it's only 20 billion because it doesn't last very long, wonderful. if its 200 billion, ok. there are ways of implementing that. we could give interest free loans through the loa ns give interest free loans through the loans that are supporting the businesses, and we could make it allowed in the business, interest free, that is repayable from future profits at a rate of 20% of net profits at a rate of 20% of net profit per year. we could do it in a way that solves the government's balance sheet in the future, but solves the problem today. that's really what we need to do, we have got to solve this problem, and it's got to solve this problem, and it's got to solve this problem, and it's got to be limitless, as to how much the government puts in. the only issueis the government puts in. the only issue is the methodology. interest free loans through the banks would solve the problem. this is what our viewers are saying, if we illustrate some, paula says, her husband is self—employed and runs a barber, he is deeply worried, what happens if he had to close because they

announce he has to? we cannot survive this. there are millions of people like that, notjust self—employed, but small and medium enterprises who will be borrowing on credit cards are getting hugely in debt. we get post corona, if there is not enough done by the government, those people will be hugely in debt, and there will be no spending to refinance the businesses. we really, really do need to financially neutralise this at the cost of the government's balance sheet short term. what are you doing in terms of your former business and philanthropy, you putting something in?|j business and philanthropy, you putting something in? i can't do anything with the filling traffic aims, they are being hit, event being cancelled all the time, but i am putting my own money in and coming straight for the lack of money. so if that charity starts suffering in, iwill money. so if that charity starts suffering in, i will put more of my

money on. sorry to stop you, we are at of time. thank you for your —— out of time. look at the hashtag for your comments. good morning. not quite as cold as yesterday morning, but not also not as sunny as it was yesterday morning. a lot more cloud and there is rain as well. it is all linked into this weather front, but it has a kink in it, we call it a wavefront so more significant rain will move in with this part of the weather front later on. very wet end to the day here. further south, front later on. very wet end to the day here. furthersouth, effective sunshine in the south—east of england and at times in the north—east, —— a bit of sunshine. still some patchy rain across wales, around the coast of south—west england. quite breezy conditions,

particularly further north and west, gusts of wind could be up to 40 or 45 miles an hour. chilly temperatures were scotland and northern ireland, england and wales quite mild. through tonight, the area of rain will move southwards, notice that we have some green colours in there so quite heavy bursts of rain as the weather front makes gradual process southwards. it isa dividing makes gradual process southwards. it is a dividing line between the milderair in the is a dividing line between the milder air in the south—east and the colder air to the north. it will turn more chilly advise the weather front continues to move southwards during wednesday, many more of us getting into colder air. the rate will be slow moving across wales, the midlands, eventually —— the rain will be slow—moving. brighter skies in the northern half of the uk. some sunny spells here. temperatures coming down at it again, but still holding on to milder air in the

south—east. eventually into thursday, all of us will be into this colder air, the milder air gets shifted away. the weather front close to southern areas so it means it will be quite cloudy across the south, some outbreaks of rain across the southwest. once again for scotland, northern england, northern ireland, drier, brighter, sunny spells. temperatures for all of us by thursday into single figures, nine or 10 degrees. by friday, this weather front could work its way further north. some uncertainty in the position of the weather front on friday, but we could see some outbreaks of rain across the far south of england whereas further north, high—pressure sustaining giving us drier and brighter conditions.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines. tougher advice to prevent the spread of coronavirus after the prime minister urged everyone to avoid unnecessary social contacts, to work from home where possible, and to stay away from pubs and restaurants. the advice is very real for everybody. it is strong advice for the over—70s, and there will be, in the next week or so, an announcement over people who are extremely vulnerable irrespective of their age. the government is set to announce new measures to bolster the economy during the coronavirus outbreak, after concerns