Chinese billionaire Larry Chen takes a hit as Beijing cracks down on private education July 26, 2021 Larry Chen, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Gaotu Techedu, has lost his billionaire status as China imposed a regulatory overhaul on the country’s $100bn private education sector. The Chinese authorities released new regulations banning companies to teach school curriculums in order to make profits, raise capital, or go public, Bloomberg reported today. Chen, [...]
FTSE 100 in the red ahead of key week of corporate results July 26, 2021 The FTSE 100 started the week in the red this morning as energy and banking stocks dragged down the index. London’s premier market was down 0.4 per cent after two hours of trading, with the FTSE 250 faring little better at 0.2 per cent down. The slide comes ahead of a week stuffed with corporate [...]
Vaccine rollout and surging consumer spending to fuel fastest economic growth since WW2 July 26, 2021 The rapid rollout of Covid vaccines and a surge in consumer spending has prompted forecasters to improve their outlook for the UK economy. Forecasts published by EY Item Club predict that the UK economy will grow 7.6 per cent this year, the fastest pace of expansion since 1941. The recent burst in consumer spending triggered [...]
Tech stocks lead gains on Wall Street July 23, 2021 US stocks opened up on Friday morning driven by a rally among megacap technology shares. The blue-chip S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent during the opening session. The Dow Jones increased 0.41 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.4 per cent. Investors piled into tech stocks after a string of strong earnings were [...]
Euro 2020 pushes retail sales above pre-Covid levels July 23, 2021 Retail sales surged above pre-pandemic levels last month as consumers rushed back to high streets to buy products that were unavailable amid Covid lockdowns and splurged on pints during matches at Euro 2020, new figures released today reveal. The volume and value of retail sales in June were up 9.5 per cent and 10.6 per [...]
Worker shortages bite as UK economic recovery stalls in July July 23, 2021 Shortages of workers and raw materials triggered by the “pingdemic” and supply chain constraints is threatening to stall the UK’s economic rebound from the Covid pandemic, show new figures published today. IHS Markit / CIPS’ latest flash UK composite PMI fell to 57.7 in July, the lowest reading since March. The reading dropped markedly over [...]
Covid sharpens inequalities in UK housing market July 23, 2021 The Covid crisis has widened inequalities in the UK housing market, according to new research published today. Figures from building society Nationwide show one in four private renters think the pandemic has made it more difficult for them to buy a home. Sharp rises in house prices over the last year, driven by demand being [...]
Exclusive: London Mayor Khan warns lack of supply in capital pushes up property prices July 23, 2021 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned that London’s house price hikes are primarily caused by a lack of available properties. “The main reason is the lack of supply to meet demand. And so what we’ve got to do is increase the supply of all forms of housing in London to meet the demand,” Khan [...]
Why has north Asia outperformed its south-east Asian peers? July 23, 2021 | City Talk The success of north Asian countries (China, South Korea, Taiwan) in containing the Covid-19 pandemic last year is well-known. Strict lockdowns and quarantine procedures helped all three countries return to relative economic normality last year while Western economies suffered protracted disruption. China and Taiwan even recorded positive GDP growth for 2020. This success was, in [...]
UK consumer confidence jumps on stronger than expected economic rebound July 23, 2021 UK consumer confidence rose for the sixth month in a row in July driven by the economy recovering much faster than initially expected. GfK’s latest consumer confidence index edged up two points to minus seven this month, marking the strong improvement in households’ outlook since the initial Covid unlocking in April of this year. The [...]