‘Appalling’ sized children food parcels were in line with government advice January 13, 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has revealed that the miserly free school meals handed out to children this week by a private company were in fact in line with government advice. Starmer hit out at Boris Johnson for distancing himself from the fiasco as the size of the meals had been dictated by Department of [...]
Hits Don’t Lie: Shakira sells entire song catalogue to Hipgnosis January 13, 2021 Shakira has become the latest musician to cash in on her song rights after selling her entire back catalogue to music royalty fund Hipgnosis. The London-listed company today said it has acquired the rights to Shakira’s portfolio of 145 songs, including hits such as Hips Don’t Lie, She Wolf and 2010 World Cup anthem Waka [...]
MP calls for City watchdog to probe ‘patchy’ British Gas insurance January 13, 2021 A Stockport MP has called for City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to investigate a British Gas backlog dispute as more than 100,000 could be left without home insurance. British Gas parent company Centrica has been accused of provoking a strike which has left its ‘HomeCare’ customers without cover. Writing to the FCA this [...]
Technology companies dominate list of best places to work in the UK January 13, 2021 Here's the list of best places to work in the UK, and these tech firms dominate
Home buyers seek stamp duty holiday extension over missed deadline fears January 13, 2021 The majority of house hunters believe the government should extend the stamp duty holiday, with many concerned they will be unable to complete their deals before the March deadline. According to the latest research, 67 per cent of buyers would like to see the property tax break extended, with 48 per cent worried the sale [...]
Leading startups shed 25,500 jobs during the pandemic January 13, 2021 As the pandemic ravages businesses, some of the world’s leading startups have been forced to make large-scale redundancies to stay afloat. Since the start of the pandemic, approximately 25,500 jobs have been lost in the top ten largest startup layoffs, according to Buy Shares analysis. Unlike their more established counterparts, startups do not have the [...]
UK vaccine rollout was ‘lumpy’ at first, minister admits January 13, 2021 The UK’s vaccine tsar has admitted the nation’s largest ever vaccination programme was “lumpy at the outset” as he faced a grilling in the Commons. Nadhim Zahawi told the Science and Technology Committee: “I now have line of sight of deliveries all the way through to the end of February and [am] getting more confident [...]
Covid: UK trials new drug that could cut risk of severe illness by 80 per cent January 13, 2021 The UK has launched large-scale trials of a new drug that could cut the risk of Covid patients developing severe illness by as much as 80 per cent. Thirty-four-year-old Alexandra Constantin became the first patient to receive the drug, produced by London-listed biotech firm Synairgen, after receiving the dose at Hull Royal Infirmary yesterday afternoon. [...]
Persimmon reports ‘robust trading’ and hails UK’s resilient housing market January 13, 2021 Persimmon, the UK’s biggest housebuilder, said the country’s property market had remained “resilient” despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 firm reported that trading was “robust” in 2020, although revenue and new home competitions dipped due to the closure of the housing market in the first UK-wide lockdown. New home competitions reached [...]
Exclusive: City fund managers on the impact of the third lockdown January 13, 2021 In this 2-part series, City A.M. asked UK-focused fund managers what they make of post-Brexit trade arrangements, the impact of three lockdowns and the long-term outlook for the UK’s investment community. Yesterday, in part 1, the investment managers focused on the UK-EU deal and which sectors and companies may become the winners and losers from [...]