Goldman Sachs boss champions post-Brexit London and expects 70 per cent of staff back in office July 16, 2021 Goldman Sachs boss Richard Gnodde said the company was as committed to its London head office as ever, buoyed by his belief that the UK capital will remain dominant as a world-leading financial centre post-Brexit. “For us we’ve been very clear, the centre of gravity for our workforce is our buildings, and in London it [...]
Small shops face £1.7bn debt, says report by ex-boss of Iceland July 16, 2021 Small shops are struggling under £1.7bn debt, the former retail chief of Iceland, has warned. Independent businesses’ borrowing increased fourfold during the pandemic, according to the report. While the money borrowed has allowed small shops to survive, the task of paying back the loans still looms over them, said Bill Grimsey, the author of the [...]
France on cusp of being moved to ‘red list’ over South African variant fears July 16, 2021 France is reportedly on the cusp of being moved to the travel “red list” amid growing fears over the prevalence of the so-called South African variant of Covid-19. Ministers discussed taking the measure during Wednesday’s review of the travel list system, the Telegraph reported. Officials have been asked to “interrogate” the data coming out of [...]
Pop-up vaccine centres are coming to London parks in time for the sun this weekend July 16, 2021 In the latest iteration of the government’s “grab a jab” mass vaccination drive in the capital, several parks around the city will play host to pop-up clinics this weekend. It’s the final push for the NHS vaccination programme to maximise the jab rollout before the majority of coronavirus restrictions are lifted on Monday. Pop-up clinics, [...]
Test and trace: 10 per cent of Nissan workers told to self isolate July 15, 2021 Hundreds of staff at Nissan’s Sunderland car plant have been told to self isolate by the NHS Test and Trace app, as Covid-19 case numbers have spiked in the area. Roughly 700 workers have been “pinged” by the app, causing disruption to the plant’s production. Sunderland reported 955 Covid cases per 100,000 people last week, [...]
Over half a million people pinged by NHS app in new record high July 15, 2021 More than half a million people were pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app in a week, the highest figures ever. A total of 520,194 notifications were sent to users of the app in the week to 7 July, informing them that they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive [...]
Medics call for triple testing as they expect surge in winter viruses alongside Covid July 15, 2021 A surge in flu and other respiratory viruses could put pressure on the NHS and people’s health this autumn, medics have warned. The Academy of Medical Sciences calls in a report today for testing on flu, Covid, and RSV, which may help doctors treat cases more quickly. Due to the lockdown, the UK population was [...]
Airline shares fall as Balearics moved to amber, MPs call for furlough extension July 15, 2021 Airline shares took another fall this morning as the industry reacted with dismay to the announcement that the Balearic Islands would be added back onto the “amber list” from Monday. The decision to reimpose additional restrictions on the popular holiday destination comes just weeks after Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza were added to the “green list”. [...]
Business groups blast government’s back-to-work guidance for lack of clarity July 15, 2021 Business leaders in the UK have slammed yesterday’s renewed government back-to-work guidance for its mixed messages that have “done little to dispel confusion” over returning to the office. BEIS officials published new guidance yesterday – a day later than expected – that called for a “gradual return” to the office from 19 July, as the [...]
China’s post-pandemic growth slows as government aims for more stable course July 15, 2021 China’s fast rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has now slowed, according to official figures. The nation’s GDP for the second quarter of 2021 was up 7.9 per cent on the same period in 2020, falling short of economist’s forecasts of 8.1 per cent growth. It was less than half the growth seen in the first [...]