"The judgment should be a massive boost to all businesses reeling from a third lockdown who can now demand their claims are paid." So says Richard Leedham, partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya, representing businesses who had appealed to the UK's highest court over claims their insurance policies should cover COVID-19 related disruption. In a ruling which looks set to have far-reaching consequences, top judges agreed. Their decision could prove to be a lifeline to the thousands of small firms facing bankruptcy as trading restrictions continue.

The markets have given a cautious response to one of the biggest peacetime public spending plans in U.S. history, as President-elect Joe Biden spells out why he thinks $1.9 trillion is needed to see the world's biggest economy out of the pandemic gloom. The challenge now will be to get opposition Republicans to agree. 

In Europe, the French government has again given a polite but firm "Non merci" to the $20 billion bid for supermarket giant Carrefour by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard. 

And to the sound of furious tweeting, the UK's new business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has hastily denied front-page reports in the Financial Times that the UK government is planning wholesale labor market reforms for the post-Brexit era – reforms that would scrap the EU working times directive and a host of other employer obligations. It is a sign perhaps of the future disputes that may be on the way between Brussels and Westminster as the UK seeks a market reset.

Could the UK and other developed economies be creating a new "Generation X" of young people that will lose out in the jobs market of the future, due to the impact of growing up and being schooled in pandemic conditions? Watch our film to find out. 

And accordingly, the latest data on the pandemic-hit EU jobs market makes grim reading for youngsters – and their hard-pressed families and carers.

Read on for all the day's business news in full.

Louise Greenwood,

Digital correspondent

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The UK's top court has ruled that tens of thousands of small firms should continue to receive payments from their insurance policies, under business interruption clauses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Financial Conduct Authority industry watchdog took the test case to the Supreme Court with eight insurers agreeing to take part, after small firms who had tried to make claims for loss of earnings were turned down. 

Insurers had argued only the most specialist policies covered the unprecedented restrictions arising from the pandemic. In a statement the Association of British Insurers said it recognised "this has been a particularly difficult time for many small businesses and naturally regret the COVID-19 restrictions have led to disputes."

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, which has yet to be approved by Congress, will include $1 trillion of spending for households, with a direct one-off payment of $1,400 to all Americans. The proposals also include $415 billion to fight the virus and $440 billion for small firms directly affected. Benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 1.12 percent on the threat of yet more long-term borrowing. The incoming Democrat administration also plans to double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and is backing greater investment for green and infrastructure developments while offering higher unemployment benefits through to September. Coming after the latest jobless figures show the number out of work is running at its highest level since August, Biden urged opposition Republican senators to "act now" in approving the bill, adding "There's no time to waste."

Meanwhile, private pension fund managers are increasing pressure on U.S. tech firms to step up controls on content ahead of Biden's inauguration next week. In letters sent to Facebook and Twitter plus Google's parent company Alphabet, funds acting for New York state employees and some religious groups have called for the disabling of coding mechanisms that allow conspiracy theories and radicalizing content to proliferate on social media. While Alphabet representatives did not respond, Twitter and Facebook say preemptive action has been taken to curb the online activity of white supremacist and fringe conspiracist elements ahead of next week's handover of power in Washington DC. 

Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has added a further nine Chinese companies to a blacklist targeted for sanctions. The list of firms includes: China's oil giant CNOOC; Xiaomi, which has just overtaken Apple to become the world's third largest smartphone maker; and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. Shares in Xiaomi fell 10 percent on the news. The companies remaining on the list will be subject to an investment ban obliging American backers to offload their holdings by a cut off date November 11, 2021, effectively barring them from trading on U.S. indices. 

German auto giant Daimler is the latest car firm to be hit by the global shortage in semiconductors. According to reports in the German press, production will be scaled back and staff hours reduced at Daimler's second-largest plant in Bremen from next week, with hints that the Mercedes maker may even mothball the plant next month if the supply situation doesn't improve. Earlier this week rival Volkswagen and Japan's Honda also announced plant closures and changes to production schedules due to the global shortage of semiconductors. Chip makers warn that due to high global demand the shortfall could last for at least another six months.

BMW said on Friday that it aims to double its sales of fully-electric vehicles in 2021, as competition intensifies among Europe's top car firms to release new models and gain ground on U.S. market leader Tesla. The Munich-based luxury car giant says the 50 percent figure will include plug-in hybrids, stating it made close to 193,000 fully electrified vehicles last year from its range of 13 models, compared to Tesla's 500,000. 

Meanwhile, a German court has halted criminal investigations into the role of former Volkswagen chief executive in its ongoing inquiry into the emissions scandal at the car maker. Martin Winterkorn was facing charges over allegations he failed to inform investors adequately about the extent of the fraud. Now the court in Braunschweig says it will discontinue the proceedings as Winterkorn faces more charges in the separate and larger case, for allowing diesel cars with excessive pollution levels to go to the market.

Goldman Sachs is reported to be ramping up acquisitions to boost its fledgling consumer banking unit Marcus after the pandemic registered a slowdown in loan and deposit growth. Sources say digital and tech acquisitions are being targeted, as management focus on online and phone based banking as the chief area of future growth. 

Profits rose at Goldman rival JPMorgan Chase & Co in the fourth quarter with strength in trading and investment banking offsetting the drag of low interest rates on lending. Net income was up to $12.1 billion, or $3.79 per share, in the quarter ended December 31, from $8.5 billion a year earlier. 

Republic of Korea's Samsung has unveiled its new range of Galaxy S21 phones. The three models have been priced at $200 less than the previous Galaxy range as part of what Samsung management describes as a "bifurcation" in the smartphone market, between a demand for quality tech and the more cost sensitive shopping being witnessed by pandemic-hit consumers. 

The French government has again stated its firm opposition to the proposed $20 billion bid for supermarket giant Carrefour by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard. In an interview on French TV, finance minister Bruno Le Maire stated "My answer is extremely clear... The no is polite, but it's a clear and final no." Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard's co-founder and chairman, flew to Paris from Quebec on Thursday in an effort to secure a meeting with Le Maire although the government had already indicated the deal would threaten French interests. Under French trade law, the government can review takeovers of domestic companies by foreign buyers in so-called "strategic" sectors such as energy, water or telecoms and last year added "food security" to the list.

Meanwhile figures just out show the UK economy shrank for the first time in six months in November, raising the risk of a double-dip recession. Output fell by 2.6 percent compared with the previous month, although the contraction was not as bad as some economists had feared. Output overall is 8.5 percent lower than before the UK's first lockdown in February. 

Connecticut has become the latest U.S. state to announce it is investigating Amazon for potential anticompetitive behaviour in the selling of its e-books. State Attorney General William Tong said in a statement that Amazon was to be probed over "potentially anticompetitive terms in their e-book distribution agreements with certain publishers." It follows a scathing antitrust report last October from the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel claimed Amazon had abused its market position in book sales, and was acting contrary to the interests of consumers and should be barred from operating in its current form. 

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Boss of Renault Luca de Meo has been outlining plans for a leaner, more hi-tech future for the giant of French motoring. De Meo, who previously ran Volkswagen Group's Seat brand, plans cost savings of $608 million after the firm racked up record losses last year, by reducing capacity and streamlining the product range. Peter Lorimer, the Daily Telegraph motoring correspondent also known as the blogger "Honest John," joined CGTN Europe to give his response. We asked: Is the Renault product was just too outdated?

Renault have actually had a fantastic revival in terms of product, cars are actually much better than they were before, they're much more reliable. I keep a databank of complaints about vehicles, it's probably the biggest one in the world, and Renault used to be pretty bad in the 1980s and 1990s. But over the last few years, they've become very, very much better. Renaults now have a five-year warranty in the UK and I get very few complaints about them, so the quality of Renault is vastly improved.

How much of a departure is this new strategy from the company's history? 

He's talked about turning into a tech company. While he was at Seat he wanted to become the automotive equivalent of Apple Mac, so he's still got that in his mind. I just don't understand how that's going to be accomplished with Renault. It's not like Tesla, that was a battery company that makes cars. It's not that way round. It's this is a car company that's got to get more advanced and make more money. But I don't know how he's going to accomplish that.

Tesla starts with a blank sheet of paper and all the other companies around the world are having to undergo this difficult transition from being one kind of business to doing something else. 

That's true. The first Tesla I got into, you got a great big screen and you drive the car by the screen. And it's a completely different experience from what people are used to, but people have got used to it. Tesla is selling very, very well. 

How bumpy is the road ahead for car makers? 

When COVID-19 hit and public transport was the easiest way to catch it, a lot of people who'd been persuaded not to have cars, started buying cars. That's dying off a bit now. People have realized that if you're isolated inside your car, you're not going to catch stuff from all the other people surrounding on public transport.

WATCH: Children's long-term education could be affected by the short break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Oxford University report. Researchers who studied the progress of pupils in the aftermath of a 2005 earthquake in Pakistan say past traumatic events hold important lessons for post-coronavirus teaching – and the long-term impact for the children could mean a 15 percent lower salary as an adult.

And finally, the latest figures confirm that younger workers continue to lose out in the pandemic-hit EU labor market. In the third quarter of 2020, while the jobs market held steady overall, just under a third of 15-24-year-olds were in employment, compared to close to 80 percent for those aged 24 to 54. Closer inspection of data again shows that it is lower paid, consumer-facing jobs such as hospitality and services, which attract entry-level workers, that have suffered the highest levels of redundancies.