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TUI AG, also known as TUI Group, announced on Thursday that it had swung to a pre-tax loss of over €1.4 billion for the three months to the end of June, representing a 98% fall in group revenue. The company have described the period as a “business standstill”.

TUI said that its operations had partially resumed from mid-May, with 55 hotels (representing 15% of its total portfolio) reopening, but consumer interest remained significantly lower than typical summer volumes. The bulk of its losses resulted from pandemic-related impairment charges and added costs from ineffective hedging contracts.

To cope, the company said that it had entered “crisis mode”, in which it reduced monthly costs to a mere €237 million during the quarter – a reduction of more than 70% overall.

The news comes after TUI’s Wednesday announcement that it would receive an aid package from the German government worth €1.2 billion to help it survive the downturn in international travel.

The €1.2bn stabilisation package strengthens TUI’s position and would provide sufficient liquidity in this volatile market environment to cover TUI’s seasonal swing through winter 2020/21… and in the case of any further long-term travel restrictions and disruptions related to COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.

Airlines and travel companies have been among the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in travel restrictions being imposed throughout the world.

The figures show that tourists are eager to begin holidays abroad once the pandemic has abated and lockdown measures are eased. In the UK, TUI reported that holiday bookings for summer 2021 were up by 145% By contrast, its bookings for summer 2020 are down by a total of 81%, and with an average selling price 10% lower than the norm.

Though the threat of collapse has been looming over Virgin Atlantic for months, the airline is now looking to finalise a £1.2 billion rescue package from a trio of credit card payment processing companies, according to reports.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its debilitating impact on air travel, Virgin Atlantic has been seeking more than £500 million in debt and equity funding for several months.

The company has already secured the support of both American Express and the Lloyds Bank-owned Cardnet and continues to negotiate with First Data. In return for its backing, First Data has reportedly demanded that it be allowed to hold onto all future bookings revenue as “protection” should Virgin Atlantic collapse.

As part of the deal, Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson will contribute £200 million in funds from Virgin Group, which was raised through the sale of a £396 million stake in space tourism company Virgin Galactic during May. US hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management will inject a further £200 million against Virgin’s assets, and a further £400 million will be raised through the deferral of fees.

Speaking on the sought-after deal earlier this month, a Virgin spokesperson referred to the arrangement as a “comprehensive, solvent recapitalisation of the airline”.

Virgin Atlantic employs Should the deal be agreed upon, thousands of jobs in the UK and overseas may be saved.

According to Sky, the final outline of the agreement will be announced by Virgin next week.

Within hours of its official launch on Monday morning, the UK government’s “Bounce Back” loan scheme saw thousands of applications from small businesses looking for funding.

Executives at major banks underwriting the loans and online application forms said that they were experiencing “significant” demand for the loans as the programme opened.

David Oldfield, CEO of commercial banking at Lloyds Bank, said that his bank had received 5,000 applications before 10am, and Matt Hammerstein, chief executive of Barclays Bank UK, told the Treasury Select Committee that Barclays had received 200 applications in just the first minute.

Announced a week prior, the Bounce Back loan scheme was launched following criticism that government aid was taking too long to reach small businesses. The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) has received particular attention, as critics claimed that its requirement for banks to assess businesses’ viability for the loans resulted in delays and the rejection of applications from numerous vulnerable companies.

The new “Bounce Back” scheme, which Oldfield described to MPs as having been “built around simplicity”, offers small businesses state-backed loans of up to £50,000.

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Oldfield assured MPs that “Whatever someone applies for within that range, subject to it being no more than 25% of turnover, then we will do no further checks other than the fraud checks,” to ensure a fast transition of funds.

Regarding the 200 applications that Barclays received upon the opening of the scheme, Hammerstein said that they were approved “within minutes” and that the requested funds should reach applicants “over the course of the next 24 hours”.

Virgin Australia confirmed on Tuesday that it has entered voluntary administration, putting 15,000 jobs at risk.

In a statement, the company pledged to continue its scheduled flights that are “helping to transport essential workers, maintain important freight corridors, and transport Australians home.” Travel credits will also remain valid, the statement continued.

The airline’s board of directors has appointed Deloitte’s Vaughan Strawbridge, Sal Algeri, John Greig and Richard Hughes as voluntary administrators.

With 80% of its workforce already stood down, Strawbridge said that there were “no plans to make any redundancies.

Virgin Australia’s slump marks the first major airline in the Australasia region to enter administration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing quarantine measures across many countries.

The news has come only days after Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson published an open letter to Virgin’s 70,000 employees in which he warned of the consequences of the airline’s potential collapse.

If Virgin Australia disappears, Qantas would effectively have a monopoly of the Australian skies,” the tycoon wrote. “We all know what that would lead to.”

Despite its requests to the Australian government, Virgin Australia was not issued the $1.4 billion emergency loan that it sought.

Virgin Australia’s difficulties mirror those faced by other major airlines around the globe, which are struggling to cope with increased travel restrictions and a dramatic fall in demand amid the COVID-19 crisis. UK-based airline Flybe also went into administration early in March as the pandemic exacerbated its existing financial concerns.

Europe - shutterstoc#D909E6After intense speculation over the possible consequences if Greece defaulted on its loan payments, the country has successfully made a €750 million ($834 million) payment to the International Monetary Fund one day before its first deadline.

Worries were rife within the international community, extending to speculation that the country would have to leave the eurozone. It was difficult to predict what effect this would have on the economy of other countries.

It is for now unclear how the Greek government – currently lead by Alexis Tsipras of Syriza - sourced the money. Currently Greece owes €320 billion ($360 billion), €240 billion of which is due to European bailouts. The country currently has a 177% debt-to-GDP ratio.

The Eurogroup today made an official statement on the situation, "We welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far. We note that the reorganisation and streamlining of working procedures has made an acceleration possible, and has contributed to a more substantial discussion. Once the institutions reach an agreement at staff level on the conclusion of the current review, the Eurogroup will decide on the possible disbursements of the funds outstanding under the current arrangement.”

For now, Greece has eased some fears of a complete liquidity crisis. The euro is currently trading below $1.12 level, undoubtedly affected by the financial situation. Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said there needs to be further specific agreements in place before Greece receives any further payments. Crisis averted, for now. But for Greece's economy there is a long way to go.

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