City helps UK pull ahead of rivals to be Europe’s top destination for investment in financial services
Navalny aide sent to prison to stifle tomorrow’s mass protests in Russia January 22, 2021 The press secretary for poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to nine days in prison today following a police roundup of several opposition aides. Navalny aide Kira Yarmysh tweeted during her arrest today, saying that police threatened to break down her door while detaining her. Continuing to tweet from custody, she said [...]
London mayoral election campaigns kick off despite lockdown January 22, 2021 The London mayoral election seems to kick off in earnest today as one of the underdog candidates will tour London in a Covid-secure tech bus. Mayoral candidate Brian Rose will go up against a current Mayor Sadiq Khan and travel the city in a tech-fitted bus, which includes a live-streaming TV studio. The businessman – [...]
London buses converted into temporary ambulances to ease Covid pressure January 21, 2021 Two London buses have been converted into temporary ambulances to alleviate the pressure of Covid-19 on the NHS across the capital. Starting the service in the next few days, NHS staff have been prepped and vaccinated to transport up to four patients in the makeshift ambulances which have been stripped of seats and adapted with [...]
Tate & Lyle appoints new finance chief following CFO’s departure for Tesco January 21, 2021 Tate & Lyle announced this morning the appointment of a new chief financial officer. Vivid Sehgal will take up the role in May but he plans to join the board of directors in March to work alongside the current chief financial officer Imran Nawaz. Current CFO Nawaz announced his departure in October as he moves [...]
Return of the Ma: Alibaba’s Jack is back after three-month lack January 20, 2021 Alibaba founder Jack Ma has made his first appearance today since disappearing from the public eye in October, driving up shares in the e-commerce giant. Speaking to a group of teachers over a video call, Ma eased concerns over his absence following Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on his e-commerce empire. Alibaba has been subject to an [...]
City Moves for 20 January: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 20, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Real estate and construction companies appear to be bustling in the capital with new projects and appointments across the UK. This week, Cromwell, Redrow and Savills boosted their firms with new appointments and [...]
British Gas engineers extend strike over company’s fire-and-rehire policy January 20, 2021 British Gas engineers extended their second five-day strike to seven this morning amid the company strategy to fire and rehire workers on poorer conditions, union GMB said. GMB National Secretary Justin Bowden said: “British Gas engineers are being fired and rehired and have been left with no choice but to take action again.” However, according to British Gas parent company Centrica, it has [...]
British lawyer pulls out of high-profile Hong Kong case following ‘pressure’ from UK January 20, 2021 A British prosecutor set to lead the case against media mogul Jimmy Lai and several pro-democracy activists has withdrawn after ‘pressure’ from the UK, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice said this morning. Hired by the Hong Kong government, David Perry QC indicated that “the trial should proceed without him”, the Department of Justice said in [...]
NHS hospitals use blockchain technology to track and monitor vaccines January 19, 2021 Two NHS hospitals are utilising blockchain technology to track Covid-19 vaccines in a ‘world’s first’ initiative revealed this morning. Monitoring the storage and supply of the temperature-sensitive vaccine, Everyware and Hedera Hashgraph are working to strengthen record-keeping and data-sharing across the supply chains. The hospitals, based in Stratford-upon Avon and Warwick, expanded their use of [...]
Lotus owner Geely to develop smart car technology with Tencent January 19, 2021 Lotus and Volvo owner Geely announced this morning it has signed an agreement with Tencent to develop smart vehicle technology. The company said it aims to transform car cockpits to enable more mobility service applications, alongside testing autonomous driving. The Geely and Tencent partnership is the latest in a series of tech and auto companies [...]