Topps Tiles warns of sales hit from new lockdown January 6, 2021 Topps Tiles this morning warned that it would take a sales hit from the new lockdown, which has forced the firm to close its aisles to customers. The warning came as the London-listed firm said that sales had increased 20 per cent on a like-for-like basis for the first three months of the new financial [...]
Hong Kong police arrest 53 pro-democracy activists in dawn raids January 6, 2021 Hong Kong police have today arrested 53 pro-democracy activists in a series of dawn raids in Beijing’s biggest crackdown on the city-state since introducing controversial new security legislation last year. Almost 1,000 police officers were involved in raids on 72 premises across the city, which saw some of the former British province’s most prominent activists [...]
Covid-19 has shown it is time to invest in Britain’s scientists January 6, 2021 Let’s start the New Year with a very positive point. The speed of scientific innovation seems to be accelerating sharply. And it is innovation which ultimately drives our health, wealth and well-being. The types of problems which have previously taken years or even decades to solve are being cracked in record times. The development of [...]
UK on course for double-dip recession amid lockdown ‘gloom’ January 6, 2021 The UK is on course for a double-dip recession as a fresh lockdown compounds the “strikingly downbeat” end to 2020, according to a new report. After the sharpest decline in history in the second quarter last year, indicators showed economic activity improved only slightly in the last three months of the year and remained well [...]
Shakespeare: Aldi’s click service sees them set to collect January 6, 2021 Discount supermarket chain Aldi announced in December that it would be expanding its click and collect grocery service to more than 200 stores across the UK in the run-up to Christmas. The service was already in high demand across the country after beginning the first trial in the Midlands in September, and was brought in [...]
UK can still be gateway to Europe for car giants after Brexit, says auto boss January 6, 2021 The UK can still be the gateway to Europe for foreign carmakers despite the challenges of leaving the EU, the head of the country’s biggest auto trade body has said. Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that the UK would still be able to compete with [...]
Asian consumers, boomerang businesses and M&A likely to shape 2021 January 6, 2021 It was some year. Anyone who took on the challenge of forecasting what would happen in 2020 more than likely saw it all swiftly swept aside – but, as they say, prediction is very difficult, especially when it’s about the future. Still, investing is a forward-looking profession and so we inevitably find ourselves thinking about [...]
Retailers slash prices in December to tempt shoppers after bruising year January 6, 2021 Retailers slashed prices in December to tempt shoppers to spend in the run-up to Christmas following a challenging year for the beleaguered UK high street. Shop prices fell 1.8 per cent last month – the same rate of decline as in November – driven by discounting among the firms hit hardest by the pandemic, such [...]
World Bank: Delays to vaccine rollout will dent recovery January 5, 2021 Global economic output is expected to increase this year but it is largely dependent on the success of a vaccine rollout, the World Bank has warned. The lender forecast that global GDP will expand four per cent in 2021 but will remain well below pre-pandemic projections due to a surge in new cases. The “heightened [...]
UK has now vaccinated 1.3m against Covid-19 as cases surge above 60,000 January 5, 2021 The UK has now vaccinated 1.3m people against Covid, with almost a quarter of people over the age of 80 in this country now given their first jab. Boris Johnson said this meant in two to three weeks that all these people would have a “significant degree of immunity” against the virus. The Prime Minister [...]
