Matt Hancock tried to ‘frighten pants off’ public with new Covid-19 strain March 5, 2023 Matt Hancock said he wanted to “frighten the pants off everyone” to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, according to leaked WhatsApp messages published by the Telegraph. Revelations have continued after a tranche of more than 100,000 messages was shared by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, leading to outcry over government actions during the pandemic. The latest set [...]
Mediclinic warns of price hikes as inflation and Covid-19 rattle healthcare November 16, 2022 Hospital operator Mediclinic has voiced concern over its ability to stave of price hikes as it undergoes a billion-pound takeover. The London-listed company, which was bought by a South African consortium for £3.7bn in August, said increasing economic uncertainty, rising inflation and the risk of further Covid-19 disruption is weighing on margins. “Increasing macro-economic uncertainty, [...]
Pfizer Covid-19 revenue halves but CEO remains bright on outlook November 1, 2022 While Pfizer’s Covid-19 revenue is declining, the pharmaceutical giant has raised its outlook for the whole year after pocketing a collective revenue of $22.6bn (£19.6bn) in the past few months. The Big Pharma firm had the revenue from its Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty plunge by 65 per cent to $4.4bn (£3.8bn) in the third quarter. However, [...]
China: Quiet trading floors and hampered supply chains as Covid-19 spreads December 19, 2022 Covid-19 is sweeping though China’s capital city according to reports, after strict measures were suddenly removed earlier this month. The virus has quietened trading floors in Beijing and is also spreading fast in the financial hub of Shanghai, according to a Reuters report. Stock trading volume has fallen in the last week, with most currency [...]
Three Brits arrested over £29m PPE fraud during Covid-19 February 8, 2023 The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested three Brits over claims they ran a fraudulent company that brokered $35m (£29m) worth of PPE procurement deals at the height of Covid-19. Investigators believe that one of the three individuals – a man in his 50s – set up a UK company with the sole purpose [...]
Loosening Covid-19 laws in China will not be economy’s silver bullet, says ING December 7, 2022 The loosening of strict Covid-19 restrictions in China Is unlikely to be the silver bullet the local economy needs, according to banking giant ING. China announced today that it is further relaxing its pandemic measures, meaning only those working in high-risk positions and located in elderly homes, hospitals, child care and primary schools will need proof of [...]
Brits sit pat on Covid-19 savings mountain in sign of tougher recession November 29, 2022 Brits are sitting pat on the mountain savings they built up over the course of the Covid-19 crisis during lockdowns, official figures out today reveal. Households set aside £6.4bn in savings last month, £1.6bn higher than the average monthly deposit flow before the pandemic, according to the Bank of England. The figures illustrate consumers are [...]
China Covid-19 cases hit record high as Beijing postpones ‘reopening’ November 24, 2022 Daily Covid-19 cases in China have hit a record high, cementing a fresh wave of concern that the country will not ‘open up’ after all. Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000. The figures are relatively small for the country of 1.4bn people. Beijing’s controversial ‘zero-Covid’ policies were hoped to [...]
Sick days in UK reach record high of 185m as Covid-19 hangs over economy April 26, 2023 Working days lost in the UK due to people being sick have climbed to a record high of just over 185m, official figures out today reveal. The new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that Covid-19 is still having a nagging impact on the UK economy and the health of the [...]
Moderna rejects request from China for Covid-19 vaccine technology October 2, 2022 Moderna has reportedly refused a request from China to reveal the technology behind its Covid-19 vaccine. The rejection prompted negotiations for its sale there to fall apart, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The US pharmaceutical company remains “eager” to sell its product in China after negotiations between 2020 and 2021 [...]