Pfizer jab 70 per cent effective against Omicron hospitalisation finds study December 14, 2021 A South African study has revealed that two doses of Pfizer are 70 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation due to the Omicron Covid-19 strain.
JPMorgan’s UK consumer bank on hiring spree to bolster expansion efforts December 14, 2021 JPMorgan’s British retail arm, Chase, has plans to take on hundreds of new recruits as it looks to expand the range of services offered to clients. Since launching in September Chase has hired over 200 staff bringing staff numbers to 800. The fledgling bank now wants to grow its team to more than 1,000 employees [...]
Two thirds businesses call for higher sick pay rate amid growing Omicron fears December 14, 2021 Nearly two thirds of employers have called for a rise in statutory sick pay (SSP) in the UK, according to a new report. The professional body for human resources behind the report, urged for major reforms to statuary sick pay after finding that 62 per cent of employers in the country think the rate, currently [...]
Mortgage lending expected to surge to record £316bn in 2021 December 13, 2021 Mortgage lending is expected to top £316bn by the end of 2021 after house sales rose to their highest level since the financial crash.
City boss calls work from home guidance ‘absurd’ and ‘frustrating’ December 13, 2021 Andrew Monk the chief executive of VSA Capital has spoken out against inconsistencies in new government guidelines on working from home.
Boardroom bloody noses: Activist activity surges as FTSE firms feel the heat over pay and director votes December 13, 2021 There were plenty of bloody noses around FTSE boardrooms this year, with new data out today showing a surge in investor activism rattling remuneration committees over pay awards and spooking directors trying to get re-elected to their posts. Investors in FTSE 350 companies are increasingly more activist, with a 29 per cent surge in shareholder [...]
Amazon’s ruthless move to block Visa credit cards forces anxious businesses to make stark choices December 9, 2021 Amazon’s recent decision to block Visa credit cards in the UK caught millions of businesses and consumers in between. As a result, many firms have some serious and fairly urgent choices to make, as industry insiders explained to City A.M. today. Amazon announced in November that it will no longer accept payments made with UK-issued [...]
Omicron hit to economy: New Covid restrictions may cost businesses £4bn in December December 9, 2021 The UK economy should brace itself for a £4 bn a month hit and see taxpayers foot the bill for more emergency support as new Covid restrictions to clamp down on the spread of the Omicron variant come into force, a think tank has warned. The right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said Plan B [...]
Zopa pulls out of P2P consumer lending as it blames cowboy firms for ‘damaging customer trust’ December 7, 2021 Peer-to-peer giant Zopa has started to inform customers it is closing down its P2P consumer investment division, transferring its loan portfolio to its relatively new bank unit. In an email to customers, Natasha Wear, peer-to-peer CEO at Zopa, wrote that “after 16 years of peer-to-peer consumer investments at Zopa, we’ve taken the difficult decision to [...]
