Construction activity continues pacey growth but inflation fears loom May 7, 2021 UK construction activity continued its rapid growth in April, but the burst of activity saw the rate of input cost inflation rise to its highest levels since 1997. IHS Markit’s construction Purchasing Managers Index registered 61.6 last month, only fractionally below March’s record reading of 61.7. Any figure above 50.0 indicates an overall expansion of [...]
Labour hammered in Hartlepool by-election as Starmer comes under pressure May 7, 2021 Labour has suffered an historic defeat in yesterday’s Hartlepool by-election, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives winning the constituency for the first ever time. The Tories blitzed Labour in the by-election, winning by a staggering 23 points after losing the seat in the 2019 General Election. The loss has already led to recriminations within the Labour party [...]
Rocket debris racing for Earth, expected to arrive tomorrow May 7, 2021 Debris falling from a Chinese rocket is expected to land on Earth tomorrow, amid concerns it could cause damage upon re-entry into the atmosphere. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged today that most of the debris will be burned up on re-entry and is highly unlikely to cause any harm. The Defence Department [...]
Analysts warn British Airways’ fortunes are tied to lucrative London to New York route May 7, 2021 British Airways owner IAG today said it is “ready to fly” but is pinning its hopes on urgent government action after tumbling to a €1.1bn loss in the first quarter. IAG’s fate lies heavily in the hands of reopening the profitable London to New York business travel market, according to analysts. Passenger capacity for the [...]
UK spooks warn councils over ‘smart city’ cyber attack threat May 7, 2021 Smart cities that use technology to make services more efficient are an “attractive” target for cyber attackers looking to disrupt British infrastructure or steal data, UK spooks have warned. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, today issued a new set of security principles for local authorities to ensure their networks [...]
Screenshot: Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? May 7, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers **Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? **ITV’s Summer of Love (Island) Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers Ok, so you might not have been the biggest fan of the Line of Duty season finale on Sunday. In fact, you [...]
NHS to deliver vaccines to low-uptake communities in a Ford van May 7, 2021 Ford and the NHS in Essex have joined forces with local health leaders to roll out a vaccine drive using a tailored Transit van to deliver jabs. Despite the UK’s successful vaccine rollout, vaccine uptake is lower among some communities facing access challenges, which the vaccine drive seeks to tackle. “Our goal of giving everyone [...]
Ericsson and Samsung ink deal to end global patent dispute May 7, 2021 Ericsson and Samsung have signed a multi-year agreement on global patent licences between the two companies, ending a legal battle that hit the Swedish firm’s first-quarter revenue. In a statement this morning Ericsson said the cross-licence agreement covers sale of network infrastructure and handsets from the beginning of this year. The two tech firms have [...]
Blackstone makes £1.2bn offer for property developer St Modwen May 7, 2021 Property developer St Modwen today said that private equity firm Blackstone had made a potential takeover offer, valuing the British firm at around £1.2bn. The London-listed company said the possible cash offer of 542p per share was a premium of about 21 per cent to the stock’s last close. St Modwen Properties said its board [...]
British Airways owner IAG posts €1.1bn loss as passengers remain grounded May 7, 2021 British Airways owner IAG today reported an operating loss of more than €1.1bn for the first quarter as the pandemic kept passenger numbers low. Passenger capacity for the first three months of the year was 19.6 per cent of 2019 due to government restrictions and quarantine requirements. IAG hopes to push passenger numbers up to [...]
