West End boss reiterates calls for extended Sunday trading hours August 4, 2021 New West Company End Company has called on the Government for continued support to help the area as post-pandemic trade rebuilds. The company wrote to business minister Kwasi Kwarteng earlier this spring to ask for the West End and Knightsbridge international centres to be added to the list of exemptions in the 1994 Sunday Trading [...]
HSBC bans UK customers from making payments to Binance August 4, 2021 HSBC has announced it will stop UK customers from making payments to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, “wherever possible.” In a message sent to customers on Tuesday HSBC said, “we’ve taken this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you. We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to [...]
Robinhood shares surge to post-IPO high in turbulent week for trading August 4, 2021 Robinhood, the trading platform made famous by the GameStop incident in January 2021, has seen its share price surge after a disappointing initial public offering. Last week the trading app sold 20 and 25 per cent of shares to its own customer base during a lacklustre IPO which saw the company’s market cap fall by [...]
Slowing US labour market recovery tempers Wall Street August 4, 2021 US shares dropped sharply on Wednesday morning after weaker than expected payrolls data tempered investor sentiment. The blue-chip S&P 500 dipped 0.42 per cent to 4,404, while the Dow Jones was clipped 0.78 per cent to 34,848. The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 0.06 per cent 14,752. Read more: Demand ‘peaks’ as US services recovery slows [...]
Private Covid travel tests: Overpriced, unavailable and unaccredited? August 4, 2021 Private Covid PCR test providers will come under investigation from the UK’s advertising watchdog and the government for their hugely variable pricing, while only a fraction can claim to be fully accredited. Government health officials are to carry out an audit of the 420 listed PCR test providers on the gov.uk website and plan to [...]
London hailed as world’s ‘city of choice’ in quality of life report August 4, 2021 London has topped the rankings out of 80 cities around the globe for a higher quality of life and social capital, according to a new report. The mammoth survey by Boston Consulting Group analysed responses from 25,000 residents in 80 cities around the world and using over 150 metrics. The UK’s capital won the title [...]
Pandemic support: Santander UK to rollout cash flow management app for SMEs August 4, 2021 Santander UK has begun rolling out an app that helps smaller companies track their cash flow and invoices, as lockdown gave way to a boom of new small businesses. The app, called CashFlow Manager, will let clients have a ‘single view’ of various account balances and transactions across their different banks. It also analyses each [...]
Confirmed: 16 and 17 year olds will now be invited for Covid vaccine August 4, 2021 Teenagers aged 16 and 17 across the UK will be given the green light to get vaccinated against coronavirus very shortly. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has approved the move and the UK and devolved nations’ health administrations will begin the rollout shortly. Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said [...]
Away and Aria Resorts to forge £600m staycation giant amid domestic travel boom August 4, 2021 Holiday park heavyweight Away Resorts has agreed to merge with UK rival Aria Resorts to forge a £600m staycation powerhouse, as pandemic restrictions continue to scupper foreign travel. A staycation boom has been looming ever since domestic restrictions lifted in the UK, however, chatter of amber and amber plus lists have put off many from [...]
Which countries could be added to the travel ‘green list’ this week? August 4, 2021 Holidaymakers are waiting with bated breath to see which – if any – countries will be added to the UK’s travel “green list” at Thursday’s travel traffic light review. At the moment, there are just 29 countries and dependencies on the “green list”, with few popular tourist destinations included. There were fears this week too [...]