New northern Treasury campus to be in Darlington March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak is expected to announce today that the Treasury’s northern campus will be located in the County Durham town of Darlington. The move will see the Treasury base 750 members of staff in Darlington, after the town beat out competition from Leeds and Newcastle. The Financial Times also reports that the Treasury has decided [...]
Chinese Covid vaccine prevents severe illness in all cases, study finds March 3, 2021 The vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech prevents hospitalisation and severe illness in all cases, researchers said on Wednesday. Murat Akova, head of the third phase trials in Turkey, said CoronaVac has an 83.5 per cent efficacy. Six people were hospitalised, but they were all in the placebo group. The figure was less than the [...]
Prudential’s Asia business drives growth in operating profit March 3, 2021 Prudential is preparing to spin off its US unit as it focuses on its main Asian business which boosted operating profit four per cent last year. The insurance giant reported overall adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of $5.5bn while Asia operating profit jumped 13 per cent to $3.7bn. It comes after a difficult first [...]
Rio Tinto chairman to step down over destruction of sacred site March 3, 2021 The chairman of Rio Tinto will step down as the mining giant has come under fire for destroying a sacred cave system in Australia. The global outcry over the destruction of the 46,000-year old Aboriginal site, known as Jukkan Gorge, has led the US government to rethink its plan for Rio Tinto and BHP to [...]
Bitcoin back above $51,000 and Ethereum/AWS tie-up could mean big innovation March 3, 2021 The Crypto AM Daily update sees Bitcoin back above $51,000 and could the Ethereum/AWS tie-up mean big innovation?
UK PMIs: Services activity stabilises after lockdown plunge March 3, 2021 UK services activity continued to contract last month, but bounced back from January’s dramatic tumble on optimism about a potential end to the pandemic. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for services registered 49.5 in February, with any score below the 50 mark indicating contraction. It came in just below analyst expectations of a score of [...]
Budget: The UK’s contactless payment limit lifted to £100 March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak will today lift the limit on contactless payments to £100 in a bid to boost the UK’s ailing retail sector. The previous limit on contactless payments was £45, however the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conducted recommended lifting the cap after a public consultation. “As we begin to open the UK economy and people [...]
Vimto owner Nichols suffers profit drop after ‘most challenging trading’ in 80 years March 3, 2021 Nichols, the owner of Vimto, said it will take a £5m hit following the most “challenging trading period” in the out of home drinks sector for 80 years. The company said group revenues fell to £118.7m due to restrictions on the out of home drinks sector, and gross profit dropped £20.4m, coming in at £49.6m. [...]
Toyota Supra 2.0 review: no replacement for displacement March 3, 2021 You can now buy a Toyota Supra with a downsized 2.0-litre engine. Does less power and less weight – plus a lower price – equal more fun?
Budget 2021: Furlough extension a life-saver but not enough, analysts say March 3, 2021 The extension of the furlough scheme will swoop in to save sectors and jobs across the UK, but analysts have urged the government to go further. Rishi Sunak will announce the move in today’s Budget, meaning the government will pay millions of people’s wages beyond the end of Covid restrictions. The chancellor said last night [...]
