Exclusive: UK eyes adding climate provisions in US trade talks to woo Joe Biden January 13, 2021 The UK will try to add new provisions on climate change and environmental standards in US trade negotiations in a bid to woo incoming President Joe Biden. Trade secretary Liz Truss wants to build on current negotiations with the Donald Trump administration and potentially add things like enhanced protections on air pollution and corporate transparency [...]
Exclusive: City of London boss says financial services overlooked in Brexit talks January 13, 2021 City of London Corporation boss Catherine McGuinness has hit out at Boris Johnson’s government for taking financial services for granted and overlooking the City of London during the last two years of Brexit talks. McGuinness, who is policy chair at the powerful local authority, told City A.M. today that she wanted to see “those important [...]
Government can give real steel to the green revolution January 13, 2021 Governments around the world are accelerating action against climate change. The election of Joe Biden has raised hopes that the US will take a leap forward and we are seeing more ambitious targets being set for decarbonisation in Europe, Japan and even China. In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out a promising [...]
UK ‘to trial’ Covid-19 vaccine passports with new app January 13, 2021 The UK is said to be starting trials of a vaccine passport that could play a key role in efforts to inoculate the population against coronavirus. Thousands of Brits who have already received their Covid-19 jab will be offered a passport proving they have been vaccinated as part of a government-funded trial, the Telegraph reported. [...]
Blackrock still invests in $85bn worth of coal assets despite sustainability pledge January 13, 2021 It is almost a year since Blackrock’s chief executive warned about the climate crisis, but new research reveals that $85bn worth of its managed assets remain exposed to the coal sector. In his annual letter to CEOs last year, Larry Fink said climate change had become a “defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects… I believe [...]
Our tech advances are difficult for productivity stats to compute January 13, 2021 One of the most depressing aspects of the decade of the 2010s, well before Covid-19 struck, was the apparently very slow growth in productivity. This is not a mere ivory tower issue. It is only through increasing productivity that rises in living standards can be sustained. Productivity is the key measure of the efficiency of [...]
London’s fintech scene could be a winner from the Covid crisis January 13, 2021 We all know the Covid-19 pandemic has been, and for too many remains, a devastating time. It’s easy to be pessimistic, too, even as vaccine rollout speeds up. Life will not go back to ‘normal’ quickly – the events of the last ten months will have profound repercussions for health services, businesses, debt and fiscal [...]
Nature calls: David Attenborough hologram to front £28m 5G trial January 13, 2021 Sir David Attenborough is set to star in a holographic video showcasing the wonders of the natural world as part of a £28m government-funded 5G trial. The beloved British broadcaster will feature in a new augmented reality app, to be released alongside upcoming BBC series The Green Planet. The app, developed by a consortium of [...]
Brands step up to aid vaccine efforts and reap the reputational rewards January 13, 2021 While many will have brought in the New Year hoping for an early end to the pandemic, 2021 has so far proved to be not that different to 2020. Many sectors are badly hit and unable to do much proactively. However, some brands have been able to bring their resources or experience to serve the [...]
Telegram user numbers surge after Whatsapp privacy update January 12, 2021 Messaging app Telegram has seen its user numbers balloon amid a backlash over changes to Whatsapp’s privacy policy. Telegram, which offers encrypted chat services, today said 25m new users had signed up in the last 72 hours alone. This is compared to the 1.5m daily additions it averaged last year, while the app’s total user [...]
