Insurers cut dividends as Bank of England warns on payouts in Covid-19 crisis - business live
(The Guardian Business News)

Rolling live coverage of business, economics and markets as Aviva, Hiscox and Direct Line cancel payouts, leaving Legal & General isolatedCoronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 8.16am BST Tesco sales jumped 30% in the first few weeks of the coronavirus outbreak as shoppers stockpiled in the run-up to the lockdown but additional costs involved in feeding the nation could reach almost £1bn. Dave Lewis, the chief executive, said: `Initial panic-buying has subsided and service levels are returning to normal. There are significant extra costs in feeding the nation at the moment but these are partially offset by the UK business rates relief.` Related: Tesco sales up 30% because of pre-lockdown stockpiling 8.13am BST The failure to reach an EU deal is causing investors to worry about the eurozone, with Italian borrowing costs rising. Talks have been suspended until tomorrow. Eurogroup chairman Mario Centeno said on Wednesday morning: After 16 hours of discussions we came close to a deal but we are not there yet. I suspended the Eurogroup and (we will) continue tomorrow.`The 10-year Italian yield rose 20 basis points to 1.799% in early European trading, hitting its highest since March 19. Two-year bonds yields were up 22 basis points [0.22 percentage points] on the day at 0.79%, the highest in three weeks.The gap between German and Italian 10-year bond yields also widened to 213 basis points [2.13 percentage points], up 29 basis points [0.29 percentage points] on the day. Continue reading...