Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch to step down January 6, 2021 Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch is stepping down after 13 years at the helm of the media giant. Darroch, who is one of the UK’s longest-serving bosses, will retire as chief executive and take up the role of executive chairman. He will be replaced by Dana Strong, who is currently president of consumer services at [...]
US jobs: Employment falls by 123,000 in December January 6, 2021 Newly released US jobs figures reveal a fall of 123,000 private sector jobs from November to December. The stats paint a grim picture of the US economy at the end of a pandemic-affected year, with the fall reversing months of gentle growth in non-farm employment. Most of the job losses came in large firms, with [...]
City set for bare bones deal in crunch talks on financial services January 6, 2021 The UK is set for only a bare bones agreement in upcoming Brexit talks on the City of London’s future relationship with the EU, according to industry insiders close to the talks. Treasury minister John Glen is set to lead post-Brexit talks with the EU this week to strike a “memorandum of understanding” that will [...]
Nicolas Cage’s The History Of Swear Words is flippin’ average January 6, 2021 First, a warning. As you might have guessed, this review will contain some very adult language. Netflix’s latest series offering seems irresistible. Nicolas Cage, Oscar winning star turned living meme, presents a show about the history of naughty words. In the age of the endless scroll, that’s more than enough to entice most browsers to press [...]
No more Dry January – let’s do Damp January with wine instead January 6, 2021 With the third lockdown, home-schooling, and the food and drink industry on its knees, this is not the year for a ‘Dry January’. I say instead we make it a ‘Damp January’, using the time to improve our relationship with booze, find new loves, and support independent food and drink businesses. Here are my top [...]
HS2 minister: Covid crisis has ‘strengthened’ case for high speed rail link January 6, 2021 The case for the controversial HS2 rail link has been bolstered by the coronavirus pandemic, the minister responsible for the project has told lawmakers. Speaking to the Transport Select Committee, Andrew Stephenson hit back at growing concerns that the current crisis has made the high speed line unnecessary. “You can argue that Covid has affected [...]
Trump issues ban on Alipay in latest China crackdown January 6, 2021 US President Donald Trump today stepped up his campaign against Chinese businesses, banning transactions with eight apps including Alipay. The new executive order is aimed at curbing the alleged threat to Americans posed by Chinese software companies that have access to personal data. The order states that the US must take “aggressive action” against Chinese [...]
FRC: Deloitte allowed Autonomy to ‘present misleading financial position’ January 6, 2021 Deloitte’s audit of scandal-hit UK software firm Autonomy allowed the company to “present a misleading picture of its financial position”, the City watchdog said this morning. The Financial Reporting Council investigated the actions of Deloitte and former partners Richard Knights and Nigel Mercer in relation to their audits of the disgraced tech company’s accounts. Autonomy [...]
Beat Dry January with booze-free alternatives, from fizzy tea to CBD January 6, 2021 Despite this being the most miserable January in living memory (™), droves of us are keen to give up even more of life’s basic pleasures. This is set to be the most widely-practiced Dry January yet, with various unscientific surveys claiming that anywhere between 6.5m UK adults (up from 3.9m last year) to half of [...]
Mayor of London election to still go ahead in May January 6, 2021 The London mayor election is set to go ahead as planned in May, the government has confirmed. The election, along with a swathe of other local elections across the country, were postponed for a year last May due to Covid-19. The election will pit incumbent Labour mayor Sadiq Khan against Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey. The [...]