Boris Johnson urges Pakistan to not unilaterally recognise Taliban in Afghanistan August 17, 2021 Boris Johnson has urged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to not recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new government without wider agreement from the international community. Number 10 said Johnson reiterated in his phone call to Khan today that “the legitimacy of any future Taliban government will be subject to them upholding internationally agreed standards on [...]
Taliban say peace in Kabul ‘top priority’ at first press conference August 17, 2021 The Taliban have said security and peace in Kabul is their “top priority” as they hosted their first press conference since gaining control of Afghanistan. “We don’t want fighting in Afghanistan and we don’t want our nation to see the consequences of fighting,” the group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed told journalists in Kabul. The militants said [...]
Weaker than expected retail sales drags Wall Street down August 17, 2021 US stocks edged down during the open today after official figures showed US retail sales were much weaker than expected in July. The blue-chip S&P 500 dropped 0.55 per cent to 4,455.46 points and the Dow Jones lost 0.83 per cent to fall to 35,328.87 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq extended the traditional benchmark’s losses to [...]
Businesses support changing the tax year dates August 17, 2021 A poll has found that 91 per cent of medium sized firms support simplifying the tax system by changing the end of the tax year to December 31. The survey, conducted by international accounting firm BDO, found that businesses overwhelmingly believe that the time is right to align the tax date with the end to [...]
The Courier review – a tense Benedict Cumberbatch spy thriller August 17, 2021 One look at The Courier’s title might suggest that Benedict Cumberbatch has gone into action territory, although it’s certainly more appealing than the original name: Ironbark. The Oscar nominee is actually returning to a familiar genre – spy thriller – playing Greville Wynne, the real-life businessman who was recruit by British and US secret services [...]
Pubs run dry amid HGV driver shortage August 17, 2021 Pubs have reported running out of beer after breweries were forced to cancel deliveries thanks to a shortage of delivery drivers. Beer giant Heineken was among those to cancel orders as the sector braces for draymen to take industrial action later this month. “Due to the resource issues we continue to face in third party [...]
Franco Manca’s Fulham Shore eyes expansion despite sliding revenue August 17, 2021 Hospitality group Fulham Shore, which owns Franco Manca, has seen its annual revenue nearly sliced in half due to the restrictions on restaurants for most of the year. The group pulled in £40.3m in revenue in the year to 28 March, after it had plunged 41.3 per cent from the £68.6m it raked in last [...]
Minamata film review – Johnny Depp shines in muddled drama August 17, 2021 The name Minamata may not be familiar to most, but the Johnny Depp-produced film is based on a shocking true story. In the early 70s, W. Eugene Smith (played here by Depp), an influential photojournalist for Life Magazine, is brought out of substance-addled seclusion by Japanese translator Aileen (Minami). She tells him about Minamata, a [...]
Collection of rare and unusual single malt whisky to go on sale August 17, 2021 “Prime” and “ultimate” connote excellence, but they also mean first and last. Diageo’s Prima & Ultima collections play with that ambiguity, by bringing together a selection of exquisite single malt whisky, which are also the first or last of their kind. The age and rarity of these spirits would make them enticing enough, but each [...]
Herd and illusory superiority bias: Why even seasoned investors succumb August 17, 2021 The herd bias phenomenon or the ‘bandwagon effect’ will be familiar to most long-time investors. It leads people to make investment decisions based on the belief that ‘everyone’s doing it’. This type of behaviour is part of human nature, though, in the context of markets, it is usually associated with novice retail investors who aren’t [...]
