When Zoom goes wrong: Is this the worst video meeting of all time? February 5, 2021 The Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee is, one assumes, a sleepy affair. But that does not seem to have been the case before Christmas — with a heady mix of Zoom confusion, playground squabbling and extremely English insults. A video of the meeting — of which the written minutes simply do not do [...]
The Kalifa Review can be the launchpad for UK fintech to take off February 5, 2021 When the Fintech Founders group that I chair recently hosted an event with Ron Kalifa, to discuss his ongoing Fintech Review, the energy and enthusiasm of the founders on the call was palpable. Many of the men and women who took part, all of them Fintech entrepreneurs, have been struggling over the last twelve months. [...]
New Amazon chief needs to think about his company’s role in society February 5, 2021 Amazon’s recent financial report saw it hit another huge milestone, delivering its largest quarter by revenue of all time at $125.56 billion – reaching the $100 billion mark for the first time. This success has much to do with founder Jeff Bezos’s relentless focus on the customer and their unchanging needs: value, choice and convenience. [...]
Covid-19: Hotel quarantine policy for UK arrivals will begin on 15 February February 4, 2021 The long-delayed hotel quarantine policy for all UK arrivals from 33 'red list' countries is set to begin on 15 February
GameStop’s stock slide speeds up as US senator steps in February 4, 2021 The slide in GameStop shares accelerated today as US officials warned they may step in to investigate the trading frenzy that has roiled markets in recent weeks. A surge in buying by amateur traders, fuelled by activity on social media, sparked big moves in shares of companies that were shorted by Wall Street hedge funds. [...]
Wall Street rises on stimulus talks as FTSE 100 closes flat February 4, 2021 Wall Street pushed higher this afternoon as investors looked to corporate earnings and signs of progress on more pandemic stimulus. The Dow Jones was up 0.91 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.86 and 0.88 per cent respectively. It came after the FTSE 100 closed four points lower this afternoon as sterling [...]
Government ‘in denial’ about post-Brexit fishing problems, say industry leaders February 4, 2021 The government is “in denial” about the size of disruption to the UK’s fishing industry post-Brexit, according to Scottish industry leaders. Scottish Seafood Association chief Jimmy Buchan told MPs today that disruption to fish exports were not just “teething problems” as said by Boris Johnson and that companies were losing an estimated £1m a day. [...]
DNA testing firm 23andMe goes public through Branson’s ‘blank cheque’ SPAC February 4, 2021 DNA testing firm 23andMe has announced it will go public through merging with Sir Richard Branson’s SPAC, after the firm was valued at $3.5bn. The deal will see Branson and 23andMe chief executive Anne Wojcicki each put in $25m into a $250m private investment in public equity offering. Other investors include Fidelity Management & Research Company [...]
Sterling jumps following BoE’s decision to hold interest rates February 4, 2021 The pound rebounded this afternoon as the Bank of England announced it would leave interest rates unchanged. The currency saw its biggest fall in three weeks this morning as traders nervously waited to see whether the BoE would formally endorse negative interest rates. The Prudential Regulation Authority’s analysis found the UK would need six months [...]
Vale signs $7bn settlement for deadly Brazil dam disaster February 4, 2021 Mining giant Vale today said it will pay $7bn to a Brazilian state to settle a case originating from a deadly dam disaster in 2019.
