The 4m people furloughed in the UK account for about 12% of the number of people in employment recorded in December to February by the Office for National Statistics.

And those furloughed account for about 6% of the entire UK population, which was estimated at 66.4m in 2018.

If all of those people had been unemployed it would mean the fewest people in work since 2006 - a period during which the UK’s labour force has increased through immigration.

Of course, not every furloughed worker would have been laid off without the scheme, but it’s a handy comparison to see just how far-reaching the crisis has been.

And remember, there were also 1.3m people who were unemployed in the December to February figures. Unemployment was at a historic low before the crisis, but is likely to have risen significantly since then, despite the presence of the job retention scheme.

Labour has backed investor calls for companies to consider cutting executive pay if they have received government support during the coronavirus crisis.

The Investment Association has even suggested that companies could claw back bonuses from executives if they are forced to cancel dividend payouts.

Lucy Powell MP, Labour’s shadow minister for business and consumers, said:

Labour believes that the government is right to support business at this critical time, to safeguard jobs, livelihoods and our economy, but companies receiving state support should show responsibility on executive renumeration packages, so that they do not undermine public support for these measures.

You can read the full report here:

European share indices have gained across the board.

The Euro Stoxx 600 rose by 1.6%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose by a provisional 1.3%, at 5,829 points.

France’s Cac 40 increased by 2.3%, while Germany’s Dax gained 2.9%.

The new 100% government-backed loan scheme has come after intensive lobbying from business groups. They appear happy.

The Confederation of British Industry’s director-general’s reaction:

Adam Marshall, the British Chamber of Commerce’s director-general, said:

The chancellor has demonstrated he is listening to the concerns of our business communities and taking steps to get cash to the front line where it is needed.

This new route for our smallest companies to apply quickly and get a fast decision will be crucial to those who have struggled to get a CBILS loan.

Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

This crucial new initiative should enable thousands of small businesses to access the working capital they need quickly, helping to protect the millions of jobs they provide in every part of the UK.

This step forward marks another decisive intervention from the Treasury and the business department, building on existing support in an innovative way. Swift delivery is now key, and we also look forward to working with government in the long-term to enhance market competition, including that provided by non-bank lenders.

A reminder: the 100% guarantee means that the banks who give out the loans take none of the financial risk. That should mean that (after carrying out basic due diligence checks) they should be able to give out loans to small businesses much faster.

Sunak’s Twitter account has more details on his announcements on what he is calling “bounce back loans” for small businesses.

That adds to the pre-existing job retention scheme, business interruption loan scheme, Covid-19 corporate finance facility and various other bits and bobs like cash grants and bans on evictions.

More than 20,000 coronavirus business interruption loans have now been approved, Sunak said.

There was a time when every raised eyebrow during the Brexit negotiations could move the pound. Sars-Cov-2 has intervened, but the talks are still going on (via video), and the government is sticking doggedly to its plans to end the transition period at the end of 2020.

Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, has popped up saying that the odds of a deal are better than two to one. It is entirely possible that they will be concluded in time, he said.

The coronavirus crisis should concentrate the minds of negotiators, he added. (There are widespread concerns that what was already looking like a tight timetable might become impossible with so much government resource focused elsewhere.)

For the record, sterling is pretty much unmoved, up by 0.2% against the euro at €1.1448, while against the US dollar it’s up by 0.15% to $1.0835.

And it’s Jasper Jolly taking over from Graeme Wearden through the European stock market close.

The S&P 500 index has also opened higher, gaining 17 points to 2,853 (up 0.6%).

As in Europe and Asia, shares are benefiting from hopes that some Covid-19 lockdowns will be eased in the coming weeks (despite the risk of a second spike in infections if policians move too early)

Wall Street has opened higher, despite the prospect of a sickening slump in growth this quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 109 points, or 0.46%, to 23,884 as a new week’s trading begins.

London’s market is slightly off the boil, with the FTSE 100 now up 55 points or 1% at 5809.

Alexandra Scaggs of Barrons has spotted that General Motors’ banks pushed it to suspend its dividend (as flagged earlier).

Here’s another clip from Kevin Hassett’s interview, in which he argues that growth will pick up in the third quarter of 2020.

More encouragingly, Kevin Hassett also predicted that growth will pick up in the third quarter of this year (after plunging in the current quarter).

He also told CNBC that US businesses are adapting to the crisis, and the challenge of physical distancing.

“At the beginning of this, there was rapid, rapid spread sadly in the places where there are a lot of essential workers. But the variance has really, really declined over time suggesting people have learned ... about safe practices,”

Wall Street is expected to open higher in 90 minutes, following today’s gains in Europe and Asia.

Newsflash: US auto giant General Motors has suspended its dividend, and its share repurchasing programme, as part of a drive to “fortify its balance sheet”.

Wall Street’s fear index has dropped to its lowest level since early March.

The VIX index, which measures volatility in the markets, has fallen below 36 points for the time in over seven weeks.

Falling volatility suggests investors are less scared about the coronavirus crisis, even though we’ve entered a desperately deep recession.

Joshua Mahony of IG says traders are expecting to learn more about the economic and financial costs of the pandemic this week, as more firms report financial results.

“Expectations of major volatility giving way to more calm and serene trading. This week marks the beginning of perhaps the most important four days in Q1 earnings season, with over a quarter of the S&P 500 reporting.

With big hitters across tech, travel, energy, and manufacturing all due to shed light on their coronavirus experiences, we will finally have a much better idea of exactly how this crisis has affected USA Inc.

Markets have been very focused on future prosperity over current suffering, and thus it is likely that market sentiment will be guided heavily by corporate outlooks rather than just the short-term impact of the temporary lockdown measures.

French manufacturer Airbus isn’t sharing today’s optimism.

The aerospace giant has warned its 135,000 employees that it may not survive the coronavirus lockdown unless it takes immediate action .

CEO Guillaume Faury told staff in a letter on Friday that the plane maker was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”, due to the slump in demand for new planes following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Faury warned that the firm “may now need to plan for more far-reaching measures” - which could mean job cuts, adding.

“The survival of Airbus is in question if we don’t act now.”

Shares in Airbus are down 3% on the Paris stockmarket, making it the biggest faller on the CAC 40.

After a risk-on morning, Europe’s stock markets are all holding their gains.

Investors are shrugging off the record surge in French unemployment, and Boris Johnson’s caution about lifting the UK’s lockdown.

• Stoxx 600: up 1.6% at 334 points
• FTSE 100: up 1.4% at 5,833
• German DAX: up 2.4% at 10,582 points
• French CAC: up 1.8% at

Trevor Greetham, Head of Multi Asset at Royal London Asset Management, says the markets are generally calmer - thanks to the recent emergency stimulus measures from governments and central banks.

“Markets usually stop panicking when policy makers start to. Stocks recovered about half of their losses after massive fiscal and monetary easing was announced.

With sentiment back to neutral, the outlook from here depends on the uncertain path back to normality.

“In our multi asset funds, we are taking a flexible approach. We currently have a small overweight in equities and a strong preference for high yield bonds, which benefit from effective policy maker support, over commodities and property, which don’t. We are overweight US equities versus the UK and technology versus financials at the sector level.”

Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley has warned that Europe’s recession will be even deeper than first feared.

Morgan Stanley now expects eurozone GDP to shrink by 11% in 2020 -- a desperate plunge -- not the 5% previously forecast.

It now expects Covid-19 lockdowns to last longer than previously thought, and to be relaxed more slowly (with large scale events banned for some time, and investment and consumption staying weak).

Greece, which has been praised for implementing an early lockdown, is now getting ready to relax it.

Bloomberg explains:

The relaxation of restrictions in Greece designed to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus will be gradual and targeted while the stages of lifting the measures will be spaced apart in order to evaluate their effectiveness, Government Spokesman Stelios Petsas said.

The first phase starting on May 4 will see the reopening of shops and hairdressers, churches will also open their door for personal worship while some schools will start operating in a second phase and travel between regions will be permitted on a gradual basis, Petsas said in Athens.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will present Greece’s overall plan for a transition out of a total lockdown situation on Tuesday while ministers will provide specific details afterward, he said.

Global markets are also being cheered by another central bank stimulus package.

Earlier today the Bank of Japan tripled the amount of corporate debt it would buy, and pledge to buy unlimited amount of government bonds to help Japan’s economy.

The BoJ also slashed its growth forecasts, and admitted that inflation would (once again) miss its targets.

BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s latest move reassured investors that central bankers will keep printing money to ward off a Covid-19 depression (which should keep asset prices buoyant).

Global oil traders are braced for another gloomy week after crude prices slumped this morning despite plans for major oil production cuts from Friday.

The market jitters are most acute in the US where oil storage tanks are filled to the brim.

The price of West Texas Intermediate, the US crude benchmark, fell by almost $2.50 to $14.69 a barrel while the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell by more than a $1 to $20.36 a barrel in early trade.

Analysts at Rystad predict that oil prices will continue to fall until a significant amount of output is ‘shut-in’, by producers closing their wells.

The plan to rein in oil production from the world’s largest oil producers, spear-headed by Saudi Arabia, is due to come in to force in May but “are not enough to alter the current situation”.

Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad, warns:

“The storage clock is ticking for producers and we are approaching the final countdown if no further action is taken.”

Bangladesh’s textile industry is returning to work today, in another sign that some lockdown measures are easing.

Reuters has the details:

More than 500 garment factories in Bangladesh that supply to global brands reopened on Monday after a month-long shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while in India calls grew for an easing of its lockdown which has caused deep economic pain.

Clothing manufacturers in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong have been permitted to resume work. Some of the world’s biggest clothing firms including Gap, Zara-owner Inditex, and H&M source their supplies from Bangladesh.

“We are making sure the workers wear masks, wash hands at the entrance, undergo temperature checks, and maintain physical distancing,” said Mohammad Hatem, vice president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Industry groups for the sector, which boasts some 4,000 factories employing 4.1 million workers, had warned the shutdown could cause the country to lose $6 billion in export revenue this financial year.

Boris Johnson’s call for patience hasn’t caused any ructions in the City.

The FTSE 100 is still solidly higher, up 1.5% or 85 points at 5837.

The smaller FTSE 250, which contains more UK-focused firms, is up 1.8% today. Bookmaker William Hill, which has been hit by sporting cancellations, are up 10%.

After an hour’s trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 is up a healthy 98 points or 1.7% at 5850.

That’s nearly its highest level in six weeks, a reminder that stocks have recovered from some of March’s wild sell-off. At its worst moment, the index dropped below 5,000 points -- having been worth over 7,400 before the Covid-19 panic began.

Italy’s stock market is having a particularly good morning, with the FTSE MIB index jumping 2.3% in early trading.

Traders are relieved that credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s agency didn’t downgrade Italy’s government debt on Friday night. That reprieve lowers the risk that Italy is plunged into ‘junk’ territory soon.

Italian bonds are ralliyng this morning, closing the gap with German debt (a reassuring sign).

Neil Wilson of Markets.com explains:

Italian and German yield spreads came in after S&P didn’t downgrade Italian debt. This is good news for the ECB, which may well increase its pandemic asset purchase programme by €500bn this week.

European stock markets are all higher in early trading, lifting the Stoxx 600 index up by 1.7%.

Adam Cole of RBC Capital Markets says “markets are risk on....as countries, including Australia, continue to slowly wind down COVID-19 constraints on economic activity.”

From Melbourne, IG analyst Kyle Rodda says that “positivity” about the prospect of the easing of social distancing measures in Australia lifted its stock market today (up 1.5%).

The Australian economy and the ASX200 is a long way from being anywhere what might be considered “out of the woods”. However, to slightly mix metaphors, the light at the end of the tunnel has grown a little brighter for Australia.

Only 10 new COVID-19 cases across the country have so far been confirmed today, as the number of active cases falls to 1,052. It’s prompted further talk from State and Federal leaders that some social distancing measures may be eased in coming weeks, as policymakers experiment with re-opening parts of the domestic economy.

Though it’s been stated a full re-opening of business will still be a long way off, a small lift of the restrictions on public movement may well be less than a month away for parts of the country.

There’s a big difference between easing a lockdown and ending it.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, says her country must remain vigilant - after moving swiftly to impose a tough lockdown that appears to have prevented a major Covid-19 outbreak.

Ardern is moving New Zealand’s lockdown from Level 4 to 3 -- which will allow restaurants and cafes to offer takeaway food. Some children will be allowed to attend school, and employees can return to work if there are appropriate health and safety and physical distancing measures.

But, people should still avoid mingling beyond a small social ‘bubble’, and work from home still if they can.

Ardern says:

“We are opening up the economy, but we’re not opening up people’s social lives.”

UK businesses are pushing the government hard for information on when the lockdown here might start to ease.

My colleague Zoe Wood explains:

The Institute of Directors said its 28,000 members were “clamouring” for information so they could start drawing up return-to-work plans. Jon Geldart, its director general, said it was in everyone’s interests to kickstart the economy again once it is safe to do so.

“Directors from all parts of the UK need to make plans for riding out this tempest, but they can’t get very far if they have no idea what will be happening in a few weeks’ time,” Geldart said.

“Business leaders know [the end of restrictions] will not happen all in one go, but that’s why it’s even more important to tell them what they need to prepare for.”

Here’s a handy map showing which countries have already started to relax some of their coronavirus restrictions, and which are preparing to do so: