Covid-19 pummels US economy in 2020; performance weakest in 74 years January 28, 2021 The U.S. economy contracted at its sharpest pace since World War Two in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic depressed consumer spending and business investment, pushing millions of Americans out of work and into poverty. The Commerce Department’s snapshot of fourth-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday also showed the recovery from the pandemic losing steam as the year wound down amid a resurgence [...]
Tory MP slammed after telling anti-vaxxers NHS figures are ‘manipulated’ January 28, 2021 A Conservative MP has faced condemnation from government ministers after he told an anti-vaccination campaign group that NHS statistics are being “manipulated” and that we are living in a “police state”. Sir Desmond Swayne told Save Our Rights UK, which organised the anti-lockdown rally in Trafalgar Square last September, to continue their fight against lockdown [...]
DNA testing firm23andMe linked to Richard Branson’s VG Acquisition Corp in move to go public January 27, 2021 DNA-testing company 23andMe is reportedly in talks to go public through a $4bn deal with Richard Branson's VG Acquisition Corp
Sadiq Khan accuses government of imposing ‘new era of austerity at worst possible time’ January 27, 2021 The Mayor of London has today warned that major cuts are inevitable unless the government adequately funds the capital. Khan has vowed to build a better city in the aftermath of the pandemic but argues that he is being forced to do so “with one arm tied behind my back”. Speaking at a Budget Plenary [...]
Exclusive: Sadiq Khan to bang the drum for City of London at World Economic Forum January 27, 2021 Exclusive: Sadiq Khan to bang drum for EU-City deal at World Economic Forum
Barclays boss Jes Staley: working from home ‘not sustainable’ as collaboration and culture take a hit January 26, 2021 Barclays boss Jes Staley says working from home 'not sustainable' as collaboration and culture take a hit
NHS chief earmarks summer for return to normality January 26, 2021 NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has signalled that the UK could begin to see a return to normality by the summer if plans to ramp up the nation’s vaccination programme go to plan. Teachers and police could be fast-tracked for the Covid vaccine as early as mid-February, the NHS boss said. Ministers have set [...]
US House Democrats deliver Trump impeachment charge to Senate January 26, 2021 The US House of Representatives yesterday delivered to the Senate a charge that former President Donald Trump incited insurrection in a speech to supporters before the deadly attack on the Capitol. The move set in motion Trump’s second impeachment trial. Nine Democrats who will serve as prosecutors in Trump’s trial, accompanied by the clerk of [...]
US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary January 25, 2021 US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary
Xi Jinping warns against ‘new Cold War’ January 25, 2021 Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned against stoking a “new Cold War”, after Beijing and Washington last week launched tit-for-tat sanctions on each other’s top officials. Speaking at this year’s Digital Davos, Xi attacked both former US President Donald Trump and his White House successor, Joe Biden, warning that confrontation “will always end up harming [...]