Who speaks for business? Government advice in a crisis September 25, 2020 It has been another week of regulations and restrictions, another round of measures to try to beat the Covid-19 spread which has started to creep up again as we move into autumn. On Monday, the government sent its top boffins, Professor Chris Whitty and Professor Sir Patrick Vallance, to face the press unchaperoned. This, surely, [...]
Counting down to the US election September 24, 2020 US elections are always significant and a point of interest around the world, but many are seeing this November’s as particularly so. Here are the big questions on the minds of investors. Can we trust the polls? Polls, as we all know, are not always correct. This time around they are of particular interest because [...]
Trump predicts Covid-19 vaccine to be available to every American by April September 19, 2020 US President Donald Trump has said he expects a vaccine for coronavirus to be available for every American by April. Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Trump told reporters he was optimistic of the vaccine being available in just seven months time and that it would be distributed within 24 hours of federal approval. [...]
Barack Obama’s memoirs to be published after US election in November September 17, 2020 The eagerly-awaited memoirs of former president Barack Obama will be published in the wake of the US election in November. A Promised Land — the first of two volumes — will be released globally on 17 November, the book’s publisher confirmed today. “There’s no feeling like finishing a book, and I’m proud of this one,” [...]
Debate: Should Sadiq Khan be allowed to freeze London rents for the next two years? September 17, 2020 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan yesterday said that rents should be frozen in London to prevent a predicted wave of evictions caused by Covid-19. He called for new powers to prevent any rent increases for two years in the capital, warning that half a million people could face eviction because of arrears built up during [...]
Donald Trump welcomes ‘dawn of new Middle East’ as Israel signs deals with Bahrain and the UAE September 15, 2020 Donald Trump hailed the “dawn of the new Middle East” at the White House this afternoon as Bahrain and the UAE signed historic deals with Israel. The Gulf states are the first Arab nations to officially recognise Israel in over a quarter of a century. Egypt, in 1979, and Jordan, in 1994, are the only [...]
To understand Russian President Vladimir Putin, we must see the world through his eyes September 14, 2020 One of the most valuable analytical lessons of all was explained to me succinctly by my foreign policy tutor during my happy days at St. Andrews. As he put it, the key to political risk analysis is not to imagine what you would do if you were in Fidel Castro’s shoes, but rather to empathize [...]
Brexit: Prime Minister urges Tory MPs to back him over bill September 12, 2020 Boris Johnson pleaded for Conservative MPs to support his plans to override part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in a Zoom call late on Friday. The Prime Minister told around 250 Tory MPs on the video call that the party must not return to “miserable squabbling” over Europe. He is hoping to pass an Internal [...]
Boris Johnson faces Tory revolt over new lockdown restrictions September 11, 2020 A number of Tory backbenchers have declared their opposition to the reintroduction of lockdown measures. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that social gatherings would again have to be limited to six people from Monday following a spike in positive coronavirus cases. But the reintroduction of this restriction has reportedly divided current ministers [...]
S4 Capital plots further expansion despite Covid-19 profit hit September 9, 2020 Advertising firm S4 Capital today said it was plotting further aggressive expansion despite taking a hit to its first-half profit due to the coronavirus outbreak. The figures S4 Capital’s revenue increased 6.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis to £141.3m in the six months to the end of June. Adjusted pre-tax profit was £13.9m, down [...]