Three charts suggest a V-shaped recovery, but economists are sceptical July 24, 2020 British businesses reported the best growth in five years in July and shoppers spent their money at close to pre-coronavirus rates in June, data showed today in a positive sign for the UK economy. It was a stark contrast to two weeks ago, when figures showed that the economy undershot expectations in May with just [...]
TfL may halt Crossrail 2 work over government funding review July 24, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) today warned it may have to pause work on some of its biggest infrastructure projects, including Crossrail 2, unless it gets a new funding deal from the government. The capital’s transport operator this morning set out its revised budget for the year, saying it would need £3.5bn due to the damage [...]
Vodafone shares slide as operator ‘calculates cost’ of Huawei ban July 24, 2020 Vodafone shares dipped more than five per cent this morning as the telecoms firm said it was still “calculating the cost” of removing Huawei kit from its 5G network following a government ban on the Chinese vendor. Vodafone chief executive Nick Read told reporters this morning the firm was “clearly disappointed” in the government’s decision [...]
EU countries must urgently diversify 5G suppliers in Huawei aftermath, Commission says July 24, 2020 EU countries must take urgent action to diversify their 5G suppliers, the European Commission said today, a move set to shrink Huawei’s presence in Europe as the US pressured the bloc to follow the UK and ban the Chinese company from 5G networks. In November last year, the European Union agreed to take a tough [...]
Johnson wages war on junk food ads in bid to tackle UK obesity July 24, 2020 Boris Johnson is set to announce sweeping measures to overhaul junk food advertising in the UK, which could include a 9pm watershed on TV adverts. The Prime Minister’s long-awaited obesity strategy, which could be announced as soon as next week, will likely involve a ban on online advertising of unhealthy foods, a 9pm watershed on [...]
Garmin shuts down as ransomware attack causes outage July 24, 2020 Garmin has been forced to shut down some of its operations after a ransomware attack caused an outage that left its fitness devices disconnected for almost a day. The wearable sports technology maker shut down services including its official website and customer services, including all phone lines, online chat tools and email. It also shut [...]
Luton residents told to stay at home amid fears of local lockdown July 24, 2020 Council leaders in Luton have told residents to stay at home as much as possible amid fears that a rise in infections in the town could lead to a local lockdown. Luton has been designated as an “intervention area” by the government, meaning the town’s infection rate is being monitored closely and further spike in [...]
Goldman Sachs reaches $3.9bn settlement with Malaysia over 1MDB scandal July 24, 2020 Goldman Sachs has agreed to a $3.9bn settlement with the Malaysian government over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal. The deal includes a cash payment of $2.5bn and a guarantee by Goldman to pay at least $1.4bn in assets linked to 1MDB bonds, Malaysia’s finance ministry said. “This settlement represents assets that rightfully belong to the [...]
Revealed: The top 10 cities to be an Airbnb landlord July 24, 2020 Cardiff has been ranked the most profitable city in the UK to be an Airbnb landlord, as the rental market gets back on track. Data crunched by Vanquis showed Cardiff is the most profitable city for Airbnb hosts, with homeowners earning 86 per cent more by listing a room on Airbnb rather than through traditional [...]
Vodafone targets 2021 IPO for European towers unit July 24, 2020 Vodafone today confirmed it would target an early 2021 initial public offering (IPO) for its European telecoms towers business. The spin-off will see the division renamed Vantage Towers after Vodafone signalled its intention to separate the unit to maximise shareholder value. Vodafone said it will seek a prime listing in Frankfurt for its European mast [...]