Bookworms continue to flourish as UK publishing hits new heights April 21, 2022 Bookworms continue to find their heads buried in books beyond the pandemic, with UK publishing sales hitting a new industry high to £6.7bn in 2021. Whilst Nielsen Bookscan estimated that 212 millon books were sold last year, the highest in a decade, new data released today by the Publishers Association has revealed that total sales [...]
Job losses loom in further sign of economic slowdown April 21, 2022 The UK jobs market is set to take a knock this year after it weathered the gloomiest post-furlough predictions, reveals new research published today. Around one in five firms are intending to scale back staffing levels over the coming year, according to conciliation service Acas. The fresh survey illustrates the steep deterioration in the trading [...]
CBI chief economist: Bank of England chasing missed rate hikes April 21, 2022 The Bank of England has been slow to get ahead of an inflation crunch that is now expected to choke the UK’s economic recovery, according to the chief economist at Britain’s top business group. Rate setters “should have acted sooner in the autumn” to cool the elevated cost of living, Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at [...]
Report warns Covid travel rules imposed without ‘overall assessment’ April 21, 2022 Covid-induced restrictions on international travel were imposed in England without an “overall assessment” of their impact, according to a report released today. The National Audit Office (NAO) said there was no system put in place by the government to measure the success of self-isolation, passenger control forms and the quarantine hotels. The watchdog also reported [...]
Car insurance rises for first time in 18 months April 21, 2022 Car insurance premiums have risen for the first time in 18 months, according to financial services company Confused. Data revealed today that insuring a vehicle is £12 more expensive than it was a year ago, causing the average premium to be as high as £550 per year. “Car insurance costs are starting to increase, and [...]
Bank of England ups budget by £24m to tackle crypto risks April 20, 2022 The Bank of England is expanding its budget by £24.3m as it seeks to tackle risks associated with crypto assets.
Amazon European retail arm paid no taxes on €51bn of sales in 2021 April 20, 2022 Amazon's European retail business reported losses of €1.16bn (£963m) in 2021 allowing the company to pay no income tax.
Long-read: Has the twit hit the fan? April 20, 2022 THE HOT topic in tech over the past week or so has been Elon Musk’s hostile $43bn bid for Twitter, which set off a firestorm of, well, tweets.Some claimed Elon Musk was riding to the rescue of free speech, others that his success would mark another step towards the breakdown of democracy. In all this [...]
Starmer urges Tory backbenches to turn on Johnson in partygate vote April 20, 2022 Sir Keir Starmer has urged Tory backbenchers to turn on Boris Johnson tomorrow and vote for a House of Commons inquiry into the Downing Street partygate scandal. Starmer said that Tory MPs should “do the right thing” and “respect the sacrifices that their constituents made during the pandemic”. The vote, tabled by the opposition parties, [...]
Coca-Cola exec spared jail after accepting £1.5m in bribes April 20, 2022 A senior manager at soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola has handed a 20 month suspended sentence after accepting bribes worth £1.5m. A judge at Southwark Crown Court handed 56-year-old Coca-Cola executive Noel Corry a 20-month suspended sentence and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. The Coca-Cola exec’s conviction comes after Corry admitted [...]