UK house prices fall for first time since 2012 amid coronavirus July 1, 2020 UK house prices posted an annual fall for the first time since 2012 in June amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Nationwide’s index today. Growth turned negative last month with prices slipping 0.1 per cent year on year, following a 1.8 per cent climb in May, Nationwide said. Its data showed UK house prices also [...]
Puma, Adidas, Microsoft and Ford join Facebook boycott June 30, 2020 Major global brands have joined a long list of companies that have withdrawn adverts from Facebook amid mounting pressure for the social media site to remove harmful and false content. Sportswear giants Puma and Adidas joined a raft of almost 200 major companies around the world including Reebok, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks, that have signed up [...]
Shell to write off up to $22bn after oil price crash June 30, 2020 Oil giant Shell today warned that it would write off up to $22bn (£17.9bn) from the value of its assets after the spring’s oil price crash led the supermajor to adjust its long-term price forecasts. In a trading update, the Anglo-Dutch firm said that impairment charges of between $15bn to $22bn were expected in the [...]
On the Beach revenue falls two-thirds as coronavirus kills holiday bookings June 30, 2020 Package holiday firm On the Beach today said that revenue had fallen two-thirds in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the onset of the virus, the group said that it had been trading well, moving into the space left by the collapsed Thomas Cook, with summer bookings up [...]
Coronavirus: Texas facing ‘very swift and dangerous turn’ as cases spike June 29, 2020 Texas governor Greg Abbott has warned that the coronavirus has taken a “very swift and dangerous turn” as the southern state suffered a serious spike in infections. Speaking yesterday, Abbott said that the number of confirmed cases per day had risen from around 2,000 to closer to 5,000. The surge in infections in the Lone [...]
AI is here and compliance needs to respond June 29, 2020 | Sponsored Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are set to pose a unique challenge to the future workplace, including the compliance profession. How should compliance respond to such innovation? Handwringing over technology and automation replacing human beings in the workplace has a long history and is far from being unique to our times. When unveiling his automated [...]
Indo pacific cooperation June 27, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and rising inflation are challenges that affect every part of the world, demonstrating how closely we are interconnected. Global problems need international as well as local solutions, as countries work together towards common goals. This week I am visiting two of our trading allies – Indonesia and Japan –as part [...]
Beaches will be closed if social distancing not observed, government warns June 26, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has warned that the government does have the power to close beaches if social distancing guidelines are ignored. Speaking on Talk Radio, Hancock said that though he was “reluctant” to shut public spaces after the lockdown, ministers would do so if there was a spike in coronavirus infections. His comments came [...]