UK banks urged to scrap branch closures during lockdown January 28, 2021 Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has today told banks to rethink moves to close branches during lockdown. The FCA said banks should consider the impact of national restrictions on their ability to comply with regulatory guidance on closing branches. The authority released a statement today urging banks to consult any customers that are affected directly. The [...]
Euromoney revenues drop as pandemic damages events unit January 28, 2021 Financial information company Euromoney has suffered lower first quarter revenues as its events business was hit by lockdowns, the company revealed today. Euromoney’s quarterly revenue fell to £78.7m, a 20 per cent drop from the £99.2m reported a year earlier. Group events revenue of £8.6m was just 30 per cent of the same period last [...]
Israeli medtech firm claims it may have found Covid-19 cure January 28, 2021 A new treatment based on proteins could cure people with the Covid-19 virus, an Israeli startup claims. According to Tel Aviv-based Novel Concepts Medical, the treatment is a combination of natural compounds and was proven in lab results to show a significant decrease in the amount of the Covid-19 ‘spike protein’ within a few hours [...]
EU and AstraZeneca hold crisis talks to resolve Covid vaccines row January 28, 2021 The EU and UK-based Covid vaccine maker AstraZeneca have vowed to resolve clashes over supply shortages after “constructive” crisis talks. Production issues means that AstraZeneca can deliver only a fraction of the doses promised to the EU in the first quarter of the year, leading to shortages across the 27-member bloc. The EU has remained [...]
Office demand drops as Workspace reports 33 per cent fall in enquiries January 28, 2021 Workspace remains optimistic about the future of London’s office work despite a sharp drop in enquiries throughout the pandemic. This morning’s results show the group averaged 672 enquiries per month in the third quarter, a 33 per cent drop from the previous year. Lettings per month also fell by 3.4 per cent to 109, driven [...]
Arrivals from 30 ‘high-risk’ countries including Portugal and Brazil face hotel quarantine January 27, 2021 Travellers arriving back in the UK from countries with a known risk of new coronavirus variants will be forced to isolate for 10 days in hotels, it was announced today.
Planet Pandemic: Vaccination numbers and Covid policies around the world January 27, 2021 With many countries being at different phases of their response to the ongoing pandemic, City A.M. looked at Covid-19 policies and vaccination numbers around the world, based on data provided by the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. The interactive map below offers a visual representation of practically every country’s Covid-19 response, [...]
Lockdown extended until at least 8 March January 27, 2021 England’s third national lockdown will be extended until at least 8 March, the Prime Minister has announced, as ministers ramp up plans to get the nation vaccinated before easing restrictions. Speaking in the Commons, Boris Johnson said schools in England will also stay closed until the spring, rather than mid-February as originally planned. “If we [...]
Major London law firms still making use of government’s furlough scheme January 27, 2021 Major law firms, some of which are based in the City of London, are still making use of the government’s furlough scheme. City firms Trowers & Hamlins, BLM and and TLT were among those still making use of the coronavirus jobs retention scheme last month, according to HMRC data published by The Lawyer. A spokesperson [...]
Scientists warn of 50,000 more Covid deaths as they slam ‘poor decisions’ January 27, 2021 “A legacy of poor decisions” led the the UK to have one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in the world, scientists have said, as they warned of 50,000 further deaths. Britain yesterday passed the “grim milestone” of 100,000 Covid-related fatalities, marking the fifth-highest death toll in the world. It makes the UK the fifth [...]