Green and pleasant land? The future of cannabis use in the UK July 29, 2021 Smoking as a social activity suffered a heavy blow around 15 years ago. Between 2006 and 2007, the four parts of the United Kingdom brought in new laws prohibiting smoking in public places, with Scotland being the first to take the leap. I bear a sliver of responsibility: I worked for the House of Commons [...]
Rentokil’s shares soar as it ups dividend by a third following strong performance July 29, 2021 Pest control and hygiene group Rentokil Initial reported a strong performance today in its 2021 interim results, and announced they will increase dividends by over a third. The British company will up dividend payments by 38 per cent to 2.09p per share, raising the amount payable to shareholders to £38.9m on 13 September. Proving services [...]
Foxtons’ best results in five years prompt real estate giant to reinstate dividend July 29, 2021 Estate agent Foxtons has delivered its best results in five years, boosted by a pandemic-induced resurgence in London’s property market after years of weak results. The sales and lettings agency announced it made £66.9m in revenue in the first half of 2021, a 66 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2020 and [...]
The FCA is revamping itself to be more “assertive” July 29, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed changes to streamline its decision-making processes, in a bid to make it more efficient. The financial watchdog said discussions have been held about moving some decision-making responsibility from its Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) to its Authorisations, Supervision and Enforcement divisions instead, in an announcement today. The RDC, a committee of [...]
Met Office warns of climate change as UK weather hit record levels last year July 29, 2021 The Met Office has warned that last year was the first in history to have temperatures, rains and sunshine hit record levels. The effects of climate change continue to be felt across the UK, the Met Office said in a report today, during a July which brought both heat-health warnings and flooding to London. “This [...]
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Team GB star Dan Bibby calls RFU cuts to Sevens funding ‘a joke’ July 29, 2021 Team GB Rugby Sevens star Dan Bibby has criticised funding cuts to the sport’s programme, calling the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) plans “a joke”. Bibby’s comments come after GB narrowly missed the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics yesterday, losing to Argentina 17-12 in the bronze medal match. The team’s central contracts ended last August [...]
Sundance London review: The Sparks Brothers is Edgar Wright’s love letter to music July 29, 2021 In another universe, Edgar Wright should be working on his third Ant-Man movie. It’s seven years since his departure from the Marvel film due to ‘creative differences’, in which time he has made three movies – car chase hit Baby Driver, the upcoming Last Night In Soho, and this week’s critically adored music doc The [...]
Chinese billionaire sentenced to 18 years in prison for ‘picking quarrels’ July 29, 2021 A Chinese billionaire has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China, according to reports. Pig farming mogul Sun Dawu, a prominent figure in China, was also fined nearly $500,000 under the charge that has previously been used against activists and dissidents. Around 20 family [...]
Number of workers on furlough reaches pandemic-low as nearly 600k exit scheme July 29, 2021 The number of people on furlough has reached the lowest level since the scheme was launched in response to the Covid crisis in March last year after nearly 600k workers exited the scheme, new figures released today show. 1.9m people were on furlough at the end of June, down from 2.4m in May, driven by [...]
Bitcoin holds steady at $40k as markets move sideways July 29, 2021 The Bitcoin price continues to hold strong at around $40,000, though it has yet to show signs of pushing on after the surge earlier in the week.
