Lucy Hooker
Business reporter

Image source, Trinity St Christmas Trees

Amid crippling gloom for many stores and businesses, there is some good news - trade is brisk for Pete Hyde, owner of Trinity Street Christmas Trees in Dorset.

Every year he runs a pop-up site in the centre of Dorchester to sell the trees he grows.

This year, despite the need for social distancing and hand sanitiser, as well as shops being closed, he's already sold nearly a third more trees than usual for this point in the season.

And it's not just him.

Christmas tree growers across the UK say they are having a bumper year.

Read more

Image source, Getty Images

Wearing full protective gear, a doctor embraces an elderly man in an intensive-care unit for coronavirus patients in Houston, Texas.

Captured by a photographer on Thanksgiving, it was a poignant moment that encapsulated the despair felt by many during the pandemic. The picture went viral on social media.

Now, in an interview with US broadcaster CNN, external, the doctor has revealed why he hugged the man.

Dr Joseph Varon, chief of staff at United Memorial Medical Center, said he saw the elderly man crying as he entered a Covid-19 ward.

When he asked the man why he was crying, he said: “I want to be with my wife.”

“So, I just grab him. I hold him. I did not know that I was being photographed at the time. And he was just crying and eventually he felt better and he stopped crying,” Varon said.

The doctor said the man was “doing much better” now and, provided he tests negative for Covid-19, may be able to see his wife before the end of the week.

Varon said he and his staff “try to be a little more human” with Covid-19 patients.

Dominic O'Connell
Business Presenter, BBC Radio 4 Today programme

Image source, Getty Images

With Debenhams to be wound down and Arcadia in administration, this is one of the blackest weeks for the British High Street and one that will have councils around the country pondering the future of their town centres.

Debenhams, which started as single shop in central London in 1778, has withstood recessions, depression and world wars, but has succumbed finally to the twin threats of the internet and pandemic shutdowns.

It has been struggling financially for since before the financial crisis.

It was owned for several years by a private equity consortium that included Texas Pacific, CVC Capital Partners and Merrill Lynch Global – and returned to the stock market in 2006. Successive financial restructurings have failed to find a winning formula.

Its former chairman, the veteran retailer Sir Ian Cheshire, told BBC Radio 4'sToday programme that its extensive and expensive property portfolio had been its undoing. No-one can change a department store’s layout and stock as quickly as you can change a website, he said.

In many town centres, Debenhams was one of the few sizeable anchor tenants left after the recent demise of BHS and others.

Councillors will now be wondering where their business rates will be coming from, and who will be wanting to visit their high streets in the absence of big name retailers.

Image source, Reuters

The health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic has led to a 40% spike in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance worldwide, the United Nations has said.

The UN said a record 235 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021.

Calling on the world to “stand with people in their darkest hour of need”, the UN launched an appeal for $35bn (£26bn) next year to provide humanitarian aid around the world.

The UN's emergency relief coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said it was the bleakest and darkest assessment of humanitarian needs ever presented.

“A clear choice confronts us. We can let 2021 be the year of the grand reversal - the unravelling of 40 years of progress - or we can work together to make sure we all find a way out of this pandemic,” Lowcock said.

Image source, Getty Images

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are expected to move into tougher Covid restrictions when Scotland's alert levels are reviewed later.

The areas are currently in level two, but public health officials have recommended the move into the higher tier following an increase in cases across the NHS Grampian area.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already said the 11 areas under level four - the harshest of the five levels of restrictions - will remain there until 11 December.

Each local authority's position in the system of measures is reviewed every Tuesday.

Read more

Earlier we heard from Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, who was asked whether there were plans to introduce a "vaccine passport" to give people access to places such as pubs and restaurants.

He told BBC Breakfast this was "not the plan" and the government's priority was ensuring any vaccine was effectively rolled out.

However, he added that individual businesses would have the "capacity to make decisions about who they will admit and why".

Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today programme later, he also defended the new tier system for England, saying there was still a "significant reservoir of infection" in the country and restrictions were needed to stop the NHS being overwhelmed.

Image source, Reuters

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German firm BioNTech are seeking regulatory approval in the EU for their coronavirus vaccine.

Clinical studies show the jab is 95% effective at protecting people from becoming ill with Covid-19.

In a statement the two firms said if approved the jabs could be rolled out in Europe "before the end of 2020".

The news comes a day after the maker of a similar vaccine, Moderna, said it had applied for US and European emergency regulatory approval.

Image source, Getty Images

Returning to the news of Debenhams' demise: It was the largest UK department store group with 124 shops, which will mean a lot of empty spaces on high streets and in arcades when they close, according to one retail expert.

Richard Lim, chief executive of the Retail Economics research group, said: “We can not overstate the significance of this collapse given the vast property portfolio, number of jobs impacted and the reverberations felt across the industry. “In a week that has seen the collapse of the Arcadia Group, this is a truly devastating week for the High Street. This puts up to 25,000 jobs at risk in just a couple of days."

Like many of its troubled competitors in retail fashion, trouble came slowly and over a number of years, said Mr Lim. "The reality is that Debenhams has been outmanoeuvred by more nimble competitors, failed to embrace change and was left with a tiring proposition. The impact of the pandemic has accelerated its demise but underlying issues within the business were the root cause.”

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

The number of Covid deaths and excess deaths in the UK are still rising, but very slowly, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

There were 3,038 Covid-19 deaths in the week ending 20 November - up by 7% compared with the previous week. A few weeks ago they were rising by roughly 35% a week.

In this week's figures, the total number of deaths in the UK, 14,276, was 21% above the five-year average. Last week, the total was 19% above the five-year average.

On Monday, separate daily figures released by the government, external recorded a further 205 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test and 12,330 new cases.

Image source, EPA

Australia has taken another significant step out of its tough Covid-19 restrictions, with more lifting of border closures between states.

The government in Western Australia said it would reopen its borders to Victoria and New South Wales next week, allowing people to travel between those states without the need for quarantine.

Tight internal border controls have been a key tool in the effort to keep Covid-19 under control.

Western Australia had been coming under pressure to let people in from the country’s two most populous states, which have gone weeks without any community transmission.

However, Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan said the state was not yet at the point where it could relax its border to South Australia.

The announcement came on a big day for border re-openings, with people in Sydney and Victoria now able to enter Queensland without restriction, and Victorians allowed into South Australia.

Barring major outbreaks, the prospect of Australia being entirely open by Christmas is now looking a realistic one.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Away from news on the UK High Street now, what would have been the first quarantine-free travel bubble in Asia - an air corridor linking Hong Kong and Singapore - has been delayed.

Hong Kong’s government said the decision was taken due to the “severity” of the coronavirus situation in the special administrative region of China.

The travel corridor was scheduled to launch on 22 November, but has been put back until next year.

Flights were called off a day before they were due to depart, after Hong Kong reported a spike in coronavirus infections.

The territory has recorded about 6,300 cases and 109 deaths - relatively few by international standards - but infections have been rising rapidly in recent days.

The arrangement would have allowed people to travel between Hong Kong and Singapore without quarantining provided they had had a coronavirus test.

Ben Thompson
BBC Business correspondent

Image source, PA Media

This really does seem like the end of the road for Debenhams - and that's really because of so many factors.

The changing way that we shop - so many of us doing that online. But also the impact of the Covid pandemic - that's meant the shops have been closed for a long time.

The final straw was the administration yesterday of Arcadia, because a lot of the concessions in Debenhams' stories are those of Arcadia brands. So it means Debenhams as a proposition is less viable. It is less attractive to any would-be buyers.

Debenhams has 124 stores across the country employing about 12,000 staff, so inevitably the big question now will be about their future.

A viable deal to secure the future of Debenhams could not be reached amid an "extremely challenging" economic landscape, the joint administrator for the department store chain has said.

Debenhams fell into administration for the second time in April and hopes had rested on a rescue bid from JD Sports.

But Debenhams' 124 shops are now set to close after the sports chain pulled out.

Geoff Rowley of FRP Advisory, joint administrator to Debenhams and partner at FRP, said: "All reasonable steps were taken to complete a transaction that would secure the future of Debenhams.

"However, the economic landscape is extremely challenging and, coupled with the uncertainty facing the UK retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached."

Image source, Getty Images

Later today, MPs will vote on the government's plans to replace the national lockdown in England with a revised, tougher set of tiered restrictions on what people can do.

Despite opposition to the plans, the measures are expected to be approved by the Commons, meaning they would come into force from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday.

But how are the rules going to change around hospitality or meeting up?

Read our handy explainers here on:

• The new tiers and lockdown rules for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Your questions about restrictions answered
• What are the new rules for pubs and restaurants?

Image source, PA Media

Department store chain Debenhams is going into liquidation, the BBC understands.

It means all 12,000 employees are likely to lose their jobs when the chain's 124 shops cease trading.

The move comes after JD Sports pulled out of a rescue deal to save the chain, which is currently in administration for the second time in a year.

It is understood staff were told this morning and Hilco, the restructuring firm which specialises in winding-up retailers, will start going into stores tomorrow to begin clearing stock.

JD Sports has pulled out of talks over a rescue deal for department store chain Debenhams.

It was the last remaining bidder for the firm, which is in administration, and up until the end of last week had been closing in on a deal.

But retail giant Arcadia is the biggest concession operator in Debenhams and its collapse is understood to have been a factor in JD Sports' decision.

Without a buyer, Debenhams could be wound down, risking thousands of jobs.

Companies like Arcadia and Debenhams have been hit hard by coronavirus restrictions.

Read more.

The government is to provide around £40m of additional support for pubs in tier two and three areas in England.

The money will be distributed via councils to so called "wet pubs" - those that don't serve food and are the most affected by the highest levels of coronavirus restrictions.

In tier two, pubs and bars can only open if they serve substantial meals.

In tier three, all hospitality venues - such as bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants - must stay closed except for delivery and takeaway services.

Image source, PA Media

As we have been reporting this morning, MPs will vote later on the government's proposals for stricter tiers across England.

The new measures, which would come into force from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday, would mean more than 55 million people entering the two toughest tiers.

A number of Conservative MPs have threatened to vote against the plans, while Labour has said it will abstain in the Commons vote.

The Liberal Democrats are also unconvinced and their leader, Sir Ed Davey, has said he will not support the "chaotic" plans.

He tweeted, external: "I will not be voting for this arbitrary, confusing and chaotic tier system today.

"If Johnson wants our support he needs to work with local authorities to build a system which keeps people safe, and builds back public trust in the Covid guidelines."

Despite opposition to the plans, the measures are expected to pass.

Image source, EPA

A new “pandemic hospital” with more than 1,000 beds opens in Madrid this morning although no patients will come through its doors for a few days. Construction of the Isabel Zendal hospital only began in July. Spain reported 9,200 Covid deaths in November, the highest since April, but the level of infection has been falling.

Mass testing of all children and teachers will take place in the central German town of Hildburghausen, where a Covid outbreak has shut schools. The tests involve around 8,000 children and 1,000 teachers. Another 388 deaths have been reported in Germany in the past 24 hours. Mass testing across Austria will start later this week with the aim of reaching as many people as possible by Christmas.

Non-essential shops have been reopening in Belgium this morning after a month's closure – daily hospital admissions have fallen to 120, the lowest since early October.

Face masks are now obligatory for over-13s in public in the Netherlands – in shops, government buildings and schools, but not in places of worship or for sex workers.

Italy’s regional leaders will push the government today to allow hotels in ski resorts to open over Christmas while closing international borders. So far Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said only that the resorts will have to shut. Germany and France have shut ski lifts over the holidays but the Swiss are keeping theirs open.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also said he is confident there will not be another lockdown in England.

He said the Welsh government had lifted restrictions "too expansively" after its 17-day "firebreak" lockdown and as a result it then had to "slam the brakes on again".

Wales is bringing in new restrictions on Friday, after a rise in infections since its lockdown ended on 9 November.

"That's one of the reasons why we're exiting the lockdown cautiously [in England]," Gove told BBC Breakfast.

"The example of Wales shows what can happen if you lift the restrictions in too blanket a way too soon."