Virgin Money personal lending up as more people shop with credit cards July 27, 2021 Banking group Virgin Money today reported that personal lending and relationship deposits have grown as consumers pick up their credit cards again. Personal lending grew 2.5% to £5.2bn in the three months to 30 June 2021, driven by more customers using their credit cards to shop. Relationship deposits increased 3.7 per cent to just under [...]
First Group boss to step down amid growing shareholder pressure July 27, 2021 First Group’s chief executive Matthew Gregory has this morning announced he will leave the company after the firm’s AGM, a day after the company’s biggest shareholder demanded his resignation. The announcement came as the FTSE 250 transport operator announced that its profit had shrunk about a fifth over the last financial year. Gregory’s resignation comes [...]
Digital credentials are not the enemy – they are the next step of innovation and efficiency July 27, 2021 They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes, significant challenges force us to innovate and we find solutions not just for the current need but ones that will endure in the future. We should continually set new standards of efficiency and resilience. Today, we are used to trusting technology to make our lives [...]
China crackdown weighs heavily on global markets July 27, 2021 Global stock markets notched losses on Tuesday as investor sentiment soured on concerns that Chinese authorities may over-extend their regulatory crackdown. The US’ main benchmarks dropped during the opening session, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq registering the worst performance, down 1.76 per cent. The blue-chip S&P 500 fell 0.78 per cent, while the Dow Jones lost [...]
5G revolution could boost UK manufacturing by over £6bn July 27, 2021 The economy could be over £6bn better off in 2030 as a result of the rollout of 5G across the manufacturing sector, with the biggest benefits being felt in the places the Government wants to “level up”. According to a new report by Vodafone, faster and more reliable 5G mobile technology has the potential to [...]
More industries exempt from isolation and testing sites expanded in effort to ease pingdemic July 26, 2021 More workers are now able to avoid Covid self-isolation after the government expanded a pilot workplace testing scheme in a bid to halt the “pingdemic” causing staff shortages across England. Prison staff, some veterinary staff, telecoms organisations, defence staff such as soldiers, HMRC staff and refuse collectors will now be eligible for exemption. It comes [...]
Pink offers to pay Norwegian beach handball team’s ‘sexist’ uniform fine July 26, 2021 Last week’s European Beach Handball Championships were followed by controversy. In a stand against ‘sexist’ uniform rules, the Norwegian team traded bikini bottoms for shorts and were consequently fined 1500 euros. This elicited widespread criticism from members in and outside of the handball community. US pop star Pink joined critics in expressing her outrage at [...]
Rishi Sunak: ‘Britcoin’ will not replace cash July 26, 2021 Rishi Sunak has hosed down any suggestion that the government could replace cash with a digital currency dubbed “Britcoin”. Sunak said in a LinkedIn post that the government has “not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a [Central Bank Digital Currency] in the UK”, after reports over the weekend suggested the chancellor wants [...]
Exclusive: London businesses call on Williamson to tackle capital’s skills crisis July 26, 2021 A group of London businesses have called on Gavin Williamson to tackle London’s growing skills shortage, warning that the capital’s recovery from the pandemic was on the line. In a letter to the education secretary, coordinated by London First and seen by City A.M., the businesses call for a swathe of new policies to be [...]
US and China hold ‘frank and open’ talks but differences yet to be resolved July 26, 2021 The high-level face-to-face meeting between China and the US highlighted the difference and no specific outcomes were agreed. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met today with her counterpart, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The talks came after the worsening relations between Beijing and Washington [...]
