Rishi Sunak: Working from home will not be the new normal post-Covid January 11, 2021 Widespread full-time working from home will not become a permanent fixture of the UK economy and central London is destined to come back to life post-Covid, according to Rishi Sunak. The chancellor told City A.M.’s The City View podcast that he’s “desperate” for “the buzz, the vitality and the creativity” that cities generate and that [...]
Democrats to kick off bid to remove Trump from office January 11, 2021 The Democratic Party will today kick off attempts to remove President Donald Trump from office after last week’s riots at the US Capitol. Yesterday Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wrote to fellow party members setting out the plans. “In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents [...]
Taxman snoops on 18,000 phone records and web histories January 11, 2021 HMRC made 18,464 requests to access communications data like phone records and web histories to aid its criminal investigations in 2019, according to city law firm RPC. The total number of communication requests was up slightly on 2018’s 18,263 requests. The latest available data was from 2019. The taxman can request data held by telecoms [...]
250,000 UK small businesses may fail in 2021 unless they get help to survive lockdown January 11, 2021 With the new year starting in lockdown, at least 250,000 UK small businesses could fail in 2021 without further help, a new study warns. The Small Business Index (SBI) from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows confidence is at its second lowest ebb in the report’s ten-year history. The London Small Business Index stands [...]
The City View: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak January 11, 2021 The City View is back for 2021 with a new format, a new host and a very special guest, with City A.M.’s Andy Silvester talking to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS The pair discuss the Government’s response to the pandemic, the future of cities and whether the work-from-home [...]
Rishi Sunak calls for return to ‘sustainable finances’ ahead of March budget January 11, 2021 Rishi Sunak has reiterated the need to return to “sustainable” levels of government spending as he foreshadows future Budget cutbacks. Sunak told City A.M.’s The City View podcast in an exclusive interview that the Treasury’s £280bn Covid spending over the past year was “the right thing to do”, but that “over time” he had to [...]
BDO: Business output fell to lowest levels on record in 2020 January 10, 2021 UK business output fell to its lowest ever levels in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by accountants BDO has found. BDO’s output index averaged 73.62 last year, the lowest figure since the measure was introduced in 2005. Previously, the lowest annual average had been 83.28, which was recorded during 2009’s financial [...]
Sleep-tech firm Simba hails new dawn amid pandemic sales boom January 10, 2021 Rising online sales during the pandemic propelled “sleep-tech” firm Simba back into the black last year, the company announced today. Chief executive Steve Reid hailed today hailed the firm’s “remarkable turnaround” as it booked £100m in sales in 2020. The rapid growth, which will pocket Simba £3m in profit, came on the back of three [...]
The week ahead, 11-15 January: FTSE housebuilders, Asos, Tesco and UK GDP January 10, 2021 London’s markets started the new year in a frenzy last week, picking up over five per cent and closing the gap on their counterparts around the world. This week is set to be a busy one for the FTSE, with a raft of companies due to provide updates, as well as key economic data in [...]
UK to roll out rapid Covid-19 tests for asymptomatic people January 10, 2021 The UK will next week roll out regular rapid testing for people with no Covid-19 symptoms, according to health secretary Matt Hancock. Hancock announced today that the lateral flow tests, which give a result in 30 minutes, will be used to target asymptomatic Covid cases in care homes, across the NHS, in critical infrastructure workplaces [...]
