Biden names national security official to oversee global health security January 8, 2021 President-elect Joe Biden plans to add a senior national security official to oversee global health security. This government position was cut by the Trump administration in 2018, two years prior to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden’s transition team in a statement released today said it would hire former White House national security official [...]
Moonpig plans £1bn London float after lockdown boom January 8, 2021 Digital card company Moonpig is set to be the first British unicorn to go public this year as its private equity owners plan an IPO. Moonpig, which has been owned by Exponent Private Equity for four years, is set to outline plans for a £1bn flotation within the next fortnight, first reported by Sky News. [...]
Boeing to pay $2.5 billion to settle U.S. criminal probe into 737 MAX crashes January 8, 2021 Plane maker Boeing will pay over $2.5bn to resolve the US Justice Department's investigation into two deadly 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people, the Justice Department said
Moderna’s Covid vaccine gets green light from UK January 8, 2021 The UK’s medicines regulatory body has authorised the Moderna vaccine for emergency use, the company has announced, in a major boost to the nation’s vaccination efforts. The US-made drug becomes the third coronavirus vaccine granted approval for use by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Britain, as ministers ramp up plans to [...]
Blackstone secures Bill Gates support in bidding war for Signature Aviation January 8, 2021 The Blackstone Group has the support of a big-name backer – Bill Gates- the largest shareholder in Signature Aviation, strengthening the firms bid to buy the private-jet servicing company. The support comes in opposition to rival bidder Carlyle and strengthens Blackstone’s $4.29bn (£3.16bn) offer alongside Gates’ Cascade Investment. Blackstone and Cascade, which own a near [...]
Scotland’s fishermen halt EU exports amidst post-Brexit ‘catastrophe’ January 8, 2021 Scottish fishermen have reportedly frozen exports to the EU due to a sudden rise in export costs and skewed delivery times after post-Brexit delays at ports. Fishing export businesses are faced with the introduction of health certificates, customs declarations and other paperwork increase export costs and timings. “Our customers are pulling out,” Santiago Buesa of [...]
England football team chef Omar Meziane on feeding Harry Kane and Co, Joe Hart’s soup strop, and his new business Tweakd January 8, 2021 He might be the England team’s trusted chef now, but Omar Meziane did not expect his first assignment with the country’s best footballers to last long. “It was a rainy Sunday night when I got a call from the FA saying: ‘We’d love you to go to South Korea with the under-20s.’ About a week [...]
The Imitation Game: Turing Scheme could be even better than Erasmus January 8, 2021 The UK’s final and definitive secession from the European Union has caused the gnashing of Remainer teeth for a hundred reasons, but one of the most prominent in the past week or so has been the end of British participation in the Erasmus+ student exchange programme. This pan-EU project allows students from member states to [...]
Close to 4,000 UK financial firms ‘at risk of collapse’ after first Covid-19 lockdown January 7, 2021 The UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown threatened the viability of around 4,000 financial firms, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said this morning. The financial watchdog surveyed 23,000 smaller financial firms to greater understand the financial impacts of Covid-19 and found that 59 per cent of firms expected blows to their profits due to the pandemic. Others’ [...]
Before the Bell: Bulls in control, calm restored to Capitol Hill January 7, 2021 The disturbance at Capitol Hill derailed the process of certifying the Biden electoral victory for a number of hours last night but was then resumed so the final confirmation of Biden’s win should be relatively straightforward. Moreover, the FTSE 100 had a stellar run yesterday as it closed up more than 3 per cent and [...]