Rishi Sunak set to release Covid recovery plan this month February 1, 2021 Rishi Sunak will release a plan for the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery this month alongside Boris Johnson’s roadmap of how the country will ease the current lockdown. The plan will reportedly include a medium-term strategy for how the UK will boost investment and skills as the economy starts its recovery, and will be released before [...]
A new era dawns with latest crypto boom February 1, 2021 Here we go again. Crypto is on the move once more, with its architect-in-chief, Bitcoin, reaching all-time highs of $40K in the past few weeks and the entire crypto market capitalisation breaching $1 trillion. Cue the eye rolls, and familiar mantras trotted out by the uninformed: “it’s not a real asset; it’ll all come crashing [...]
Central London’s economy hit hardest by Covid as tourist spending plummets £10bn February 1, 2021 Research published by Sadiq Khan shows central London’s economy has been hit hardest by Covid-19, largely due to home working and a sharp drop in tourism. Tourism spending fell by £10.9bn in 2020 compared to the year before, with more than 26,000 jobs at risk in arts and culture alone and the night-time economy also [...]
Elon Musk in the Clubhouse, not the Dogehouse! February 1, 2021 Crypto at a Glance If you caught last week’s episode of ‘The Markets do the Funniest Things’, you’ll undoubtedly have been on the edge of your seat waiting to see how it all turns out this week. But let’s start with a quick recap. Friday’s cliffhanger saw GameStop back up and running on Robinhood and [...]
Ryanair on track for record loss after €306m third quarter hit February 1, 2021 Ryanair this morning plunged to a €306m (£222.6m) loss as the Irish carrier continued to suffer “the most challenging year in its history”. The Irish carrier said that passenger numbers were down almost 80 per cent to just 8m people over the three month period. As a result, it said it was reducing its full [...]
Hedge fund Melvin Capital bags billions from investors following GameStop debacle February 1, 2021 After losing more than 53 per cent in January, Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the centre of the GameStop drama, enjoyed a cash injection from investors in the last days of the month. The firm started the year with roughly $12.5bn, according to reports, but that dramatically dipped after it was at the centre [...]
Nintendo profits soar as home gaming booms in 2020 February 1, 2021 Video game giant Nintendo saw its profit almost double in 2020 as the world played games at home during the pandemic. The Japanese company said its April to December profit surged to 376.6bn yen ($3.6bn) from 196bn yen in 2019. It reported more than a 10 per cent rise in its Switch games console sales [...]
Why renewable energy could gain from the green hydrogen trend February 1, 2021 What effect will net zero have? One of the most notable features of climate policy over the last couple of years has been the rise of national and supranational “net zero” targets. Countries and regions adopting these targets include Europe, the UK, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, South Africa and a handful of US states. [...]
UK PMIs: Manufacturing activity slows in January as export orders shrink February 1, 2021 Manufacturing growth slowed its lowest rate in three months in January as Covid-19 and Brexit weighed upon export orders. The IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 54.1 last month, down from 57.5 in December. Any reading above 50 designates growth. However, the score was higher than analyst estimates of a score of 52.9. The [...]
BP sells stake in giant Omani gas project for $2.6bn February 1, 2021 BP has this morning sold a 20 per cent stake in a giant gas field in central Oman to Thailand’s national oil company for $2.6bn (£1.9bn). The oil giant will remain the operator of Block 61, the largest “tight gas” development in the Middle East, with a 40 per cent stake. It said that it [...]
