Royal Mail awarded contract to deliver and collect Covid-19 home testing kits November 24, 2020 Royal Mail has been awarded a new contract to deliver and collect coronavirus home testing kits seven days a week. The move comes as ministers prepare to ramp up testing capacity in the coming week, part of Boris Johnson’s ‘Operation Moonshot’ that was announced several months ago. Completed tests will be collected from 35,000 postboxes [...]
Wizz Air slams slot suspension as it seeks to grow presence at Gatwick November 24, 2020 Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has hit out at regulators over fears that a continued freeze on airport slot rules could derail efforts to bolster its presence at London Gatwick. Under normal circumstances, airlines which fail to use 80 per cent of their take-off and landing slots have to cede some of these to their rivals. [...]
Think ‘carefully’ before travelling at Christmas, warns Shapps November 24, 2020 People should think “carefully” about travelling over the Christmas period, the transport secretary warned today, because of “limitations” on the UK’s railways. Speaking to the BBC, Grant Shapps said that people should “take a close look at any proposed journeys and routes they are taking” amid fears of overcrowding. “I would appeal to people to [...]
Sign Brexit deal to ‘give us our future’, pleads car industry November 24, 2020 The car industry has pleaded with the government to sign a post-Brexit free trade agreement by Christmas, saying that the failure to do so could cost the sector £55bn by 2025. Speaking at a Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) summit, chief executive Mike Hawes said that a new partnership with the EU “could [...]
Leadenhall Market tenants offered turnover-based rents to see them through Covid-19 November 24, 2020 The City of London Corporation has offered Leadenhall Market tenants the option to switch to turnover-based rents amid a surge of closures in the UK retail and hospitality sectors.
Hancock says vaccine roll-out could mean a return to normality by Easter November 24, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock hopes the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine would signal that life could go back to “normal” by Easter. Speaking today Hancock told a joint session of the Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee: “After Easter, we think we will be getting back to normal.” At a press [...]
UK housing transactions surge in October due to stamp duty holiday November 24, 2020 UK housing transactions surged in October as the stamp duty holiday reignited the property market following the first coronavirus lockdown. Residential transactions jumped 8.1 per cent to 105,630 last month, compared to October 2019. Activity was 9.8 per cent higher than September, according to the latest statistics from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Non-residential transactions [...]
UK banks are yet to maximise the full benefits of the cloud November 24, 2020 In a year that demonstrated the importance of operational resilience, major UK banks have migrated less than 10% of business infrastructure onto the public cloud. The move to the cloud also requires a mindset shift for many. In the banking sector, AI and Blockchain have long been regarded as the technologies set to change the [...]
Gender lens funds are growing – but female progress remains challenging November 24, 2020 The third quarter of 2020 was an eventful one for gender lens investing – investing for financial return while also considering the benefits to women – as well as for women in leadership (WIL). Gender lens equity funds globally turned in modest positive returns, a trajectory in line with the broader market. This suite of [...]
Retirees to be hit by inflation change in Rishi Sunak spending review November 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak is set to cost investors £100bn by announcing a change to how pensions are calculated in tomorrow’s comprehensive spending review. The Telegraph reports that Sunak is considering linking pension rises to CPI instead of the retail price index, which would mean smaller yearly increases. The change would mean that 10m retirees will receive [...]
