City Spirits: The margarita is a perfect February pick-me-up February 19, 2021 For all too many people, February 22 is just another date. A wintry day, touch of drizzle, and this year in particular, nothing overly exciting to celebrate. Those in the know, however, will be getting their fiesta on for National Margarita Day. And honestly, on day 4,374 of lockdown, do you need an excuse to [...]
Publisher Future lifts profit forecasts as it completes Go Compare deal February 19, 2021 Magazine publisher Future today said it expects full-year profit to come in ahead of previous forecasts as it completed its £600m takeover of price comparison site Go Compare. The media group, which owns titles such as Country Life, Four Four Two and Tech Radar, reported strong trading in the four months to the end January [...]
Win for diversity as all-male boards disappear from the FTSE 350 February 19, 2021 There are now no all-male boards across the entire FTSE 350, according to the latest data compiled by the 30% Club.
Public sector borrowing hits £8.8bn in first January deficit for a decade February 19, 2021 Public sector net borrowing ballooned to £8.8bn last month, marking the first January deficit for a decade. The figure is £18.4bn more than in the same month last year and is the highest January borrowing amount since records began. Public sector borrowing is now estimated to have reached £270.6bn in the first 10 months of [...]
Rishi Sunak to extend business rates relief and furlough February 19, 2021 Rishi Sunak is set to extend business rates relief and the furlough scheme into the summer, offering further support to companies battered by coronavirus restrictions. In his Budget next month the chancellor is expected to announce that the year-long business rates holiday for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue beyond the previous end-date [...]
NatWest tumbles to £351m loss in 2020 as bank shuts door on Irish market February 19, 2021 NatWest has today announced that it will pull out of its operations in the Republic of Ireland after reporting a £351m annual loss. The bank intends to withdraw from its Ulster Bank but operations will not be affected in Northern Ireland. It will exit the country following a strategic review and send $4.84bn worth of [...]
Slave to the algo: facial recognition and fraud in a Covid-19 world February 19, 2021 “There will come a time when it isn’t, ‘they’re spying on me through my phone’ anymore. Eventually, it will be, ‘my phone is spying on me’.” American author, Philip K. Dick, warned us about the rapid advancement of technology. Incredibly, this warning was given long before his death in 1982, when mobile phones were the [...]
Big Bang 2.0 will only succeed with a revolution in the back-office of financial services February 19, 2021 Negative news about the new post-Brexit challenges for the UK’s financial services currently dominates headlines. The market structure is still far from settled ahead of upcoming talks between the UK and the EU on equivalence. Whatever level of equivalence is agreed upon will dictate the direction for UK financial services, with some eyeing up an [...]
Speedy vaccinations give more UK SMEs hope of a revenue rebound in 2021 February 19, 2021 Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK have been offered a glimpse of hope this morning, as nearly a quarter have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels of output.
New £800m UK science research agency called Aria to open in 2022 February 19, 2021 The government will today announce a new £800m military research agency that was spearheaded by former Boris Johnson aide Dominic Cummings. The Advanced Research & Invention Agency (Aria) will be “tasked with funding high-risk research that offers the chance of high rewards” and is set to be launched next year. A statement from the Department of [...]
