Trump’s golf clubs enjoy furlough benefits December 26, 2021 The former US President Donald Trump may not have reacted with too much urgency to the spread of Covid-19 but his UK golf clubs certainly did. Trump’s courses in Turnberry in Ayrshire and Balmedie in Aberdeenshire claimed around £3m in furlough cash during the pandemic. The figures were disclosed in accounts first reported by the [...]
Trust people to understand Covid risk, says Archbishop of Westminster December 25, 2021 The Archbishop of Westminster pleaded with Government last night not to bring back restrictions on church-going amid a wave of new infections. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales said people now “understand the risk” and should be left to “make good judgements themselves” about their behaviour. A drumbeat towards further [...]
Metaverse set for regulation, reckons Digital Minister December 25, 2021 Meta’s new virtual reality project the Metaverse will be subject to new UK laws on digital harm, according to the Government’s digital minister. The metaverse was launched with great fanfare by Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, as he rebranded Facebook with a new corporate identity. The metaverse is envisioned as a blending of both physical [...]
Now Christmas travel hit by virus-related staff shortages December 25, 2021 Thousands of flights have been cancelled over the Christmas weekend as Omicron’s spread leads to staff shortages. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, some 1,779 flights have been cancelled on Christmas Day and a further 402 for Boxing Day. Airlines are struggling to staff their full roster of flights as the new variant spreads [...]
China demands more from firms plotting overseas listings December 25, 2021 China’s financial watchdog laid out a raft of new oversight provisions yesterday, tightening rules on firms plotting overseas listings. The China Security Regulatory Commission (CSRC) plans to expand its oversight of offshore listings to those firms using variable interest entity structures, popular with firms who have undertaken recent overseas listings. The CSRC said it was [...]
Government set to launch new care home visa scheme December 25, 2021 Care staff will be added to the Government’s official shortages list in order to allow foreign workers easier access to the UK. There has been a widely reported shortage of care home staff in recent years as the UK deals with an ageing population. As a result of the move, care workers, care assistants and [...]
Travel sector and real estate lead FTSE firms through second year of bumper capital raises December 14, 2021 UK listed companies have raised £24.7bn new capital from investors in a strong second year of cash calls, as firms spent another twelve months prioritising their Covid recovery. FTSE companies raised more than £12bn of that in the second half of the year to November, as record low interest rates saw investors more willing to [...]
Travel data: Londoners shrug off work from home order with bus and tube usage falling less than expected December 13, 2021 The number of Londoners still travelling into work appears to have fallen less than expected according to new Transport for London data. Today represents the first day that the Government’s re-instituted work from home order comes into force. Bus usage before 10am this morning fell just six per cent week on week, whilst tube usage [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and House of Fraser empire kicks off £70m share buyback plan December 13, 2021 Retail baron Miek Ashley has announced the start of a £70m share buyback plan for Frasers in an attempt to boost the company’s share price. Bosses at the group, which includes department store House of Fraser and retail chains Sports Direct and Game, said the plan is to reduce the number of shares in circulation. [...]
Klarna float inevitable says boss – but don’t worry about the financials December 2, 2021 Klarna’s boss confirmed yesterday that the buy now pay later giant will eventually head for public markets – but that he hopes investors don’t pay too much attention to financial updates. Boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski said that he wanted the firm to have “a strong enough reputation… as you have been able to see with (Tesla [...]
