UK economy: Experts cut forecast as coronavirus cases surge October 29, 2020 Analysts have become significantly more pessimistic about the UK economy, saying the surge in coronavirus cases and new restrictions will weigh on the recovery as the year runs into 2021. Economists say chancellor Rishi Sunak’s more generous employment support scheme will help limit some damage in the jobs market. But they warn that new lockdowns [...]
Can Boris Johnson forge a special relationship with Joe Biden? October 29, 2020 Boris Johnson’s victory in the Tory party leadership contest on 24 July last year was immediately hailed by Donald Trump as a great step forward for Britain. The US President was effusive in his praise for the Brexit pin-up boy, calling him “tough and smart”. “They’re saying ‘Britain Trump’, they call him ‘Britain Trump’ – [...]
Has Jack Ma made IPOs a weapon of corporate warfare? October 29, 2020 Ant Group is not a household name. An affiliate of Chinese tech wizard Jack Ma’s Alibaba, it operates the digital payment platform Alipay, which serves more than a billion users and is China’s largest such enterprise. This week, Ant Group announced the pricing of its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai’s Star [...]
Generation Covid are being denied the opportunities we all took for granted October 29, 2020 This week, a new study by the London School of Economics — the most comprehensive of its kind — confirmed our worst fears about the economically divisive impact of the pandemic. Any pretext that we are “all in this together” has been utterly dashed. According to the research, young people have seen their job prospects and earnings [...]
I won’t let the government cancel Christmas — will you? October 29, 2020 It is hard to believe that just weeks ago, there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel. The autumn sun was bringing people out of the house and back into offices, shops, restaurants and bars. But the period of positive convalescence for the mental, physical and economic trauma this country has been [...]
Death of the middleman? The myth of selling straight to the customer October 29, 2020 This pandemic has driven consumers online at a pace no one could predict, with Covid-19 forecast to generate an additional £4.5bn of UK online sales in 2020. Social distancing has set in motion a dramatic shift in how we shop — our business alone saw a more than 230 per cent growth rate in online [...]
Keep the dream alive, and support a female-led business during lockdown October 29, 2020 When Kiera-Lorelle opened the doors to her new family business — Cinnamon Leaf foodhall in Tottenham, North London — she was full of hope: “It’s been a life-long dream of my mum’s to open a store.” That was back in January. Needless to say, the months since haven’t been easy. But Cinnamon Leaf has carried [...]
G4S slams ‘desperate’ Gardaworld takeover bid October 29, 2020 The chairman of G4S has said that rival firm Gardaworld, which is trying to engineer a takeover of the FTSE 250 group, “desperately needs” the bigger company to “realise its ambitions”. In a letter released to the market this morning, John Connolly called for shareholders to reject a 190p per share offer for the G4S, [...]
Golden age of tech: Value of European tech firms soar to €618bn October 29, 2020 The value of Europe’s tech firms has soared in the past five years signalling the start of a golden age of tech entrepreneurship on the continent. Technology has become somewhat of a safe haven for investors during the pandemic but figures from Dealroom indicate it is part of a longer trend. European tech companies are [...]
UK advertising market not set to recover until 2022 after Covid-19 crash October 29, 2020 The UK advertising market will not recover until 2022 after sinking to record lows this year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Ad spend is set to come in at £21.5bn this year, marking a fall of £3.6bn — or 14.5 per cent — compared to 2019. The figures come ahead of the crucial [...]
