Morrisons push ahead with plans to open automated grocery store as ‘pingdemic’ continues to hit supermarkets July 19, 2021 Morrisons are said to be close to unveiling an unmanned pilot store to the public “within months”, as they look to follow Amazon’s lead in modernising the approach to grocery shopping. The store will rely on shoppers to scan their smartphones upon entry before having digital cameras follow their every step in store to check [...]
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 [...]
FTSE 100 sees slight fall as energy giants face downturn July 15, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 fell slightly this morning as the energy sector and domestically focused companies both faced losses. The capital’s premier index fell by 0.02 per cent, owing to losses in energy stocks, notably BP and Royal Dutch Shell. Just Eat and JD Sports also saw losses as Covid-19 cases soar across the country. 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 [...]
Just Eat delivery order growth in UK up 733 per cent on the same period last year July 15, 2021 Just Eat Takeaway saw orders rise across the globe in the last quarter as recent investments began to take off. Half year orders in 2021 are up 61 per cent, whilst newly-acquired subsidiary Grubhub saw 51 per cent growth. Delivery order growth in the UK for the same period grew a staggering 733 per cent. [...]
Lufthansa aiming for 60-70 per cent passenger capacity by the end of the year July 14, 2021 Lufthansa, the German airline giant, has said that it is aiming for around 60-70 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger numbers by the end of the year. It is currently operating at around 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Jens Fehlinger, a manager at Lufthansa, suggested that things are beginning to look up for the airline [...]
Fees rise as Big Four still dominate FTSE 100 audits market July 14, 2021 Long-standing plans to increase competition in the auditing market appear to have been delayed slightly longer, as the Big Four accounting firms continue to dominate. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the regulator for auditors, said that KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PwC audited all FTSE 100 companies in a roughly even four-way split. Government-backed reviews had [...]
Biden infrastructure plan receives backing as Democrats support $3.5 trillion investment July 14, 2021 Leading Senate Democrats have provided Joe Biden’s new infrastructure plan with a big boost after they agreed on a $3.5 trillion investment plan that they aim to include in the budget resolution that is debated soon. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that “we have come to an agreement.” It came after two hours [...]
Metropolitan Police seize record £180m of cryptocurrency July 13, 2021 The Met has seized a record £180m of cryptocurrency connected to the capital as it looks to crack down on international money laundering. It follows the seizure of £114 of crypto last month – a woman arrested in connection with that case is now being interviewed for this latest confiscation. She has since been bailed [...]
Hotel Chocolat records strong results following ‘promising’ in-store performance July 13, 2021 Hotel Chocolat have announced impressive revenue in their latest fiscal year results, seeing an increase of 21 per cent on 2020, while it is also up 24 per cent on 2019. With the ten weeks from 19 April to 27 June boosted by the reopening of the high street, the UK cocoa manufacturer saw its [...]