Full blown lockdown would plunge UK economy far below pre-pandemic size December 13, 2021 A full blown lockdown would derail the UK’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, reveals fresh analysis from City economists. Shutting down the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors will cause the British economy to shrink to six per cent below its pre-pandemic size, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. Imposing tougher restrictions on businesses that rely on [...]
Exclusive: HSBC and Wells Fargo use blockchain to settle FX trades December 13, 2021 Two of the world's largest financial institutions, HSBC and Wells Fargo, are using blockchain technology to settle foreign currency trades.
OPEC remains bullish on oil demand and downplays Omicron variant December 13, 2021 OPEC raised its oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022, anticipating the new Omicron variant will be “mild and short-lived”.
Lorry licenses surge easing driver shortages December 13, 2021 The number of lorry licenses issued this year has increased in recent months to ease HGV shortages. Figures obtained by the Telegraph have shown that between January and October around 230,000 licenses were handed out, of which 40,169 only in October. Compared with the 100,000 driver shortage which plagued the good part of this year, [...]
Lateral flow kits run out on government website amid high demand December 13, 2021 Rapid home testing kits are no longer available on the government website as the Omicron Covid-19 variant runs riot.
Investors bet on EV despite Omicron concerns, Freetrade reveals December 13, 2021 Despite Omicron concerns startling the markets, investors are increasingly betting on electric vehicles (EVs), as according to online stockbroker Freetrade, four out of the 10 most popular stocks in November were from EV companies. Newly listed Rivian and EV charging point Pod Point as well as consolidated firms such as Tesla feature among those most [...]
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.
Purplebricks shares fall by a fifth on £9m bill for tenancy law breaches December 13, 2021 Online letting agent Purplebricks' shares are down by 18 per cent as it faces a possible £9m bill for breaching tenancy law.
Greensill dished out a taxpayer backed Covid loan to neighbour December 13, 2021 Collapsed lender Greensill Capital gave a government backed Covid loan to the neighbour of founder Lex Greensill. Greensill is already under investigation for allegedly abusing its position while in charge of lending money under the Coronavirus Business Loan Interruption Scheme to dish out £400m to businesses linked to Sanjeev Gupta. It has now emerged that [...]
Oil prices maintain recovery amid US inflationary pressures and defiant Omicron outlook December 13, 2021 Both major oil benchmarks consolidated last week’s mini-rally with rising inflationary pressure in the US and increasing Omicron optimism.