Retail sales fall sharply as new restrictions dampen economic recovery October 27, 2020 Retail sales fell sharply this month as new coronavirus restrictions dampened the UK’s economic recovery, according to the latest research. In the year to October retail sales dropped to a balance of minus 23 per cent, from growth of 11 per cent last month, according to the CBI distributive trades survey. Retail sales have been [...]
Has an unverified Woolworths twitter account pranked Britain? Probably. October 27, 2020 An unverified Twitter account claiming to belong to Woolworths emerged this morning, sparking a media frenzy and a social media storm
Investment into UK ‘tech for good’ surges amid climate crisis October 27, 2020 UK impact tech firms have received nearly ten times more investment in the past five years as European investors turned their attention to issues such as climate change. Investment into these ‘tech for good’ startups has increased 9.5 times between 2014 and 2019, according to the latest research by Tech Nation and Dealroom. An impact [...]
Driverless Tube trains would cost £7bn, report shows October 27, 2020 A leaked document has shown that it would cost £7bn to introduce driverless trains onto London’s Tube network. Automating trains on the capital’s underground network is a pet project of PM Boris Johnson, who has pushed for progress on the development. Back in July, he said that driverless Tube trains should be a condition of [...]
Why I’m calling the US election for Biden and the Democrats October 27, 2020 Given the absolute lunacy of this past year, the American presidential campaign of 2020 has followed a strikingly consistent pattern. Since the coming of the virus in the spring, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has held a clear (if not quite overwhelming) lead over the incumbent Donald Trump. Last Thursday’s Real Clear Politics aggregator of polls [...]
HSBC to overhaul business model as ultra-low interest rates hit profit October 27, 2020 HSBC is planning a coronavirus-induced overhaul of its business model, seeking to shift its main source of income from interest rate to fee-based businesses. Europe’s biggest lender will also accelerate a sweeping cost-cutting programme, despite reporting better-than-expected results for the third quarter. Read more: HSBC ‘to cut 300 jobs’ in overhaul of UK commercial banking [...]
Exclusive: Private jet sector remains ‘robust’ amid air travel slump October 27, 2020 The number of flights made on private jets in August was nearly three per cent higher than in the same month last year, new data for City A.M. has shown. Analysis from business aviation broker Colibri Aircraft showed that there were 68,525 such flights in August, a 2.8 per cent rise year-on-year, despite the coronavirus [...]
Revolution Bars to close six sites as sales plunge due to coronavirus 10pm curfew October 27, 2020 Revolution Bars will permanently close six sites after coronavirus restrictions such as the 10pm curfew on hospitality venues caused sales to plummet. The bar chain announced this morning it would launch a company voluntary arrangement to close sites, cut rents and improve profitability. Investors will need a stiff drink today, with shares already down 6.5 [...]
US election: Nervous New Yorkers sleepwalking toward polling day October 27, 2020 Taking a bus from New York’s John F Kennedy airport and through Long Island provides an insightful snapshot into some of the realities of 21st century America. In the one hour it took yesterday to drive from one of America’s largest airports to my accommodation in Brooklyn, I saw poverty that was akin to that [...]
