Could AI help Rishi Sunak revive the UK economy? Could AI help Sunak revive the UK economy? This was once meant to be the year the government balanced the books, a literal pay off for years of tight purse strings under George Osborne’s austerity programme. Instead, 2020 has seen government debt balloon to over £2 trillion. The coronavirus pandemic has meant UK spending has rocketed far beyond any previous peacetime records, leaving [...]
UK retail sales climb above pre-pandemic levels in July UK retail sales climbed 3.6 per cent higher in July compared to June, to beat their pre-pandemic levels, official data showed today. The climb came despite a seven per cent fall in online shopping after digital retail comprised a record 33.3 per cent of all retail sales in May. A sharp 11.9 per cent jump [...]
Lookers warns of first-half loss and expands accounting probe Lookers expands accounting probe into £19m black hole Under-fire car dealership Lookers said today it has widened the scope of its audit into a £19m black hole in its 2019 financial results as it warned it will fall to a loss in the first half of 2020. Today Lookers’ board and auditor Deloitte expanded their investigations on the back of Grant Thornton’s probe [...]
BCC: UK businesses face tough outlook after furlough ends August 19, 2020 More than one in three UK businesses have emerged from a bruising lockdown with less than three months’ worth of cash reserves, according to a British business body that warned firms remain “in the eye of the storm”. A survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that business conditions have only slightly [...]
Marks & Spencer to axe 7,000 jobs within three months amid pandemic August 18, 2020 Marks & Spencer is set to slash 7,000 jobs by December in a huge restructuring brought about by the pandemic, it said today. The high street giant, which was struggling prior to coronavirus, will focus the cuts in its central support centre, regional management and UK stores. It comes on top of 950 job cuts [...]
Petropavlovsk appoints interim CEO after boardroom battle August 17, 2020 Under-fire gold miner Petropavlovsk appointed an interim chief executive today after an activist investor succeeded in blocking the reappointment of its former boss. Maksim Meshcheriakov will also be a candidate for the permanent position after Pavel Mavlovskiy’s return was scuppered by 7.5 per cent shareholder Everest. Founder of the Russia-focused miner Peter Hambro, and temporary [...]
Lockdown extended in north-west regions of England August 14, 2020 The government extended lockdown restrictions on regions of north-west England today, saying there was no evidence that the coronavirus infection rates in the areas had fallen. “The latest evidence does not show a decrease in the number of cases per 100,000 people in the area, and the health secretary, in collaboration with local leaders, has [...]
UK signs deal for 90m more coronavirus vaccine doses August 14, 2020 The UK government has signed a deal for 90m more coronavirus vaccine doses from US biotech company Novavax and Belgian pharma giant Janssen. That means the UK has now agreed deals for a stockpile of 340m vaccine doses, and six different types of coronavirus vaccines. The government did not reveal how much it has agreed [...]
Just Group shares jump as profit survives pandemic August 13, 2020 Just Group’s shares leapt today after it posted slightly higher profit for the first six months of 2020 today despite the pandemic. The figures Underlying operating profit rose £3m to £117m year on year for the first half of 2020. Profit from active life insurance policies shot up 25 per cent year on year to [...]
Trump escorted from briefing after shooting near White House August 11, 2020 Secret Service officers abruptly escorted President Donald Trump out of a live press briefing after a shooting occurred outside the White House yesterday. The President had started a statement to the media when the Secret Service rushed him from the room and into the Oval Office before the White House entered lockdown. When Trump returned [...]
