Coronavirus lockdown: Government announces £4bn in grants for closed retail and hospitality firms January 5, 2021 Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are set to receive a one-off grant of up to £9,000 per property to help them survive the latest coronavirus lockdown, the government announced this morning. The new funding comes after the Prime Minister announced last night that the sectors would be forced to remain closed until at least mid-February [...]
Tube and bus passenger numbers plunge as lockdown begins January 5, 2021 There were 200,000 journeys made on the London Underground on the first morning of the latest national lockdown, figures from Transport for London (TfL) showed today. As of 10am this morning, passengers made a total of 400,000 entrances and exits to the Tube network, which is the equivalent to 18 per cent of pre-pandemic demand [...]
AIM higher: IPOs help junior index rally in 2020 January 5, 2021 Faced with a turbulent year, London’s AIM market ended the year higher after a rise in its healthcare and energy stocks and a slew of listings. The junior exchange rallied 21 per cent in 2020, closing at 1,157.04 by the end of the year. The FTSE 100 by contrast ended down 14 per cent on [...]
Boris Johnson cancels trip to India after announcing Covid lockdown January 5, 2021 Boris Johnson has today cancelled his plan trip to India later this month, after he announced a new England lockdown last night. Johnson spoke to India Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to deliver the news and reaffirm his commitment to visit the country later this year. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “In light of the national [...]
Paperchase on the brink of collapse as Covid-19 lockdowns hit sales January 5, 2021 Paperchase is on the brink of becoming the first major retail collapse of 2021 after the stationary chain was forced to close stores over Christmas. The retailer has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, with PwC lined up to handle proceedings, following the announcement of a third nationwide lockdown. The card retailer, which [...]
Ticketmaster handed $10m fine for hacking into rival company January 5, 2021 Ticketmaster has been slapped with a $10m (£7.4m) fine after it was charged with repeatedly hacking into the computer systems of a rival company. In court documents filed last week, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said several Ticketmaster employees used stolen passwords to access confidential information in a bid to “choke off” competition from a [...]
Decision on UK border restrictions in coming days, says Michael Gove January 5, 2021 Cabinet minister Michael Gove today confirmed that the government is preparing new border controls for travellers entering England. Speaking to ITV, he said: “We will be making announcements later today and in the days ahead about how we will make sure that our ports and airports are safe. “It is already the case that there are significant [...]
Next confirms consortium bid for Topshop-owner Arcadia January 5, 2021 Next has confirmed that it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire. It was reported last month that the high street retailer was holding detailed discussions with Davidson Kempner about a combined offer for Arcadia, the owner of [...]
Porsche Taycan Turbo review: fast-forward to the electric future January 5, 2021 The warp-speed Porsche Taycan Turbo isn’t the best electric car on paper. But, says Tim Pitt, it is on the road.
As Bitcoin pulls back, Ethereum hits three-year high January 5, 2021 Crypto at a Glance It was a turbulent day in the markets yesterday, with Bitcoin seeing a sharp retrace from $33,000 to $28,000 after Sunday’s new all-time high. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap managed to bounce back relatively quickly to over $31,000, where it has somewhat stabilised, but it could be a volatile few [...]