Weekend Read: Ailing business investment will dampen the economy’s post-Covid prospects August 21, 2021 The good pandemic-related news continued to emerge last week. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics shows output jumped 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year, driven by the lifting of Covid restrictions on sectors that rely on face-to-face and social contact to generate income. The services industry – which accounts [...]
Resolution Foundation: Stamp duty holiday not main force behind house prices rise August 21, 2021 The stamp duty holiday’s role in rocketing house prices over the past year has been overstated, the Resolution Foundation has claimed. The average value of a UK home increased by 13.2 per cent between June 2020 and June 2021 but the think tank believes the boom has more to do with other factors than the [...]
Worst performing investment funds worth £30bn are revealed in report August 20, 2021 An online investment service, Bestinvest, has published it’s latest “Spot the Dog” report naming and shaming 77 investment funds which have consistently underperformed the markets they invest in. Although 77 investment funds across a range of equity markets worldwide were identified in the latest report, which is published twice a year, it marks a sharp [...]
Biden: Afghanistan evacuation ‘one of the most difficult air lifts in history’ August 20, 2021 President Biden has said the US has made “significant progress” with evacuation efforts in Afghanistan. More than 18,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since July and about 13,000 since the US military lift started on August 14. Some 5,700 evacuees left the airport yesterday, Biden told journalists on Friday. There are presently 5,000 US [...]
Argo Blockchain prepares for Nasdaq listing August 20, 2021 Argo blockchain, the only London listed crypto mining company, is planning to sell shares on the US-based Nasdaq exchange. In a filing made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company today confirmed its intention to list American Depositary Shares (ADS) on the Nasdaq exchange. According to the filing, Jeffries and Barclays will be [...]
Two winemakers changing the world, one rosé at a time August 20, 2021 English rosé is a rapidly diversifying wine category, with the smallest boutique vineyards producing standout wines. The first vines were planted at the Off The Line Vineyard in Hellingly, East Sussex in 2014. The wines are made on site in a purpose-built red wine only winery by Kristina Studzinski and her partner Ann-Marie Tynan. Studzinski, the [...]
Next week’s tube strike suspended as talks continue August 20, 2021 Trade union RMT has announced it has suspended strike action by tube drivers scheduled for next week. The union said there had been further progress in ACAS talks today with Transport for London. There are plans to merge Night Tube driver roles with day driver jobs and the service is not set to return until [...]
Pig review – Another unexpected Nicolas Cage triumph August 20, 2021 Where do you even begin with Nicolas Cage? Once a respected Oscar winning star, he’s now largely known for two things: his eccentricity, and his output. He makes an awful lot of films, most of which are low budget dross, but every now and again the intense actor makes a movie that succeeds in spite [...]
Asos billionaire’s petition to stop spaceport plans scrapped by judge August 20, 2021 Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen’s attempt to stop approved plans for a spaceport in Scotland has been scrapped by a court judge. Povlsen, Asos’ largest shareholder and Scotland’s richest man, has reportedly been against the building of the spaceport after investing in a rival project. The Sutherland spaceport will be the UK’s first vertical launch facility, [...]
US markets shake off Delta variant jitters as investors seek to end volatile week on a high August 20, 2021 Wall Street shook off concerns that the rapidly spreading Delta variant of Covid could halt the global economic recovery from the crisis to end the week on a high. The blue-chip S&P 500 jumped 0.69 per cent to 4,436.26 points during early trading, while the Dow Jones added 0.5 per cent to 35,06776 points. The [...]
