Study says two shots of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer effective against Delta variant July 22, 2021 Two does of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provide nearly as much protection against the Delta variant as they do against the previously dominant variants, a new study shows. The positive news comes as cases of the Delta variant are rising exponentially around the world. Over 44,000 people tested positive for the virus in [...]
UK government to sell-off more of NatWest stake July 22, 2021 The UK government is set to sell more of its stake in NatWest over the next year. Over the next 12 months, the government plans to sell 15 per cent of its stake in the bank formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland through a share sale. Read more: NatWest chairman warns City will never [...]
New investors flock to AJ Bell as platform hits £70bn assets under management July 22, 2021 AJ Bell continued to attract a substantial amount of new customers to its platform in the third quarter, delivering a 30 per cent increase in its total assets. In a trading update, AJ Bell said its total assets under administration for the three months ended June 30 rose to £70.4bn, a 30 per cent rise [...]
Exclusive: Clim8 is a green investing platform that wants to distance itself from ESG July 22, 2021 Clim8, a London-based sustainable investing platform, is on a mission to challenge ESG funds so that investors can bypass “greenwashing” and find a portfolio of companies that are having a positive impact on climate change. The platform, which launched its app “Clim8 Invest” in March, today announced it has closed its third funding round. The [...]
Small businesses will drive recovery if they can access the right finance July 22, 2021 Having reached ‘Freedom Day’ this week, it would be gratifying to think that the small businesses that power our economies in the UK are on the path to a sound trading recovery. Economic indicators, including our own Global Economic Conditions Survey for the last three months, are reporting a strong rebound in the UK economy [...]
Musk: Tesla to resume accepting Bitcoin as payments July 22, 2021 Tesla is to resume accepting Bitcoin as payments after it finishes checks on the cryptocurrency’s environmental impact, chief executive Elon Musk said yesterday. “I wanted a little bit more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50 per cent, and that there is a trend [...]
Ecotricity makes fourth takeover bid of Good Energy for £60m July 22, 2021 Ecotricity has made a new higher offer in its takeover pursuit of fellow green energy supplier Good Energy, after a series of rejected offers since June. The latest cash offer, announced this morning, is at 340 pence per share, valuing the Chippenham-based company at around £59.5m. It marks a rise on Ecotricity’s initial indicative offer [...]
Pingdemic: Government urged to expand self-isolation exemption list July 22, 2021 MPs and industry leaders have called on the government to include supermarket staff, lorry drivers and other essential workers on the self-isolation exemption list to prevent supply chains from buckling under the weight of the “pingdemic”. Shelves across the UK have been depleted this week as a result of workers at each stage of the [...]
Six million SMEs risk ‘being forgotten’ in net zero transition, banks warn July 22, 2021 The UK’s six million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be “forgotten or left behind” in the country’s net zero transition, warns Bankers for Net Zero in a report. The initiative – supported by Barclays, Handelsbanken, Triodos, Ecology Building Society, ClearBank and Tide – argues that measures need to be implemented to avoid leaving SMEs unprepared [...]
Turn the volume down: London could be revolutionised by the silent automation of the noisiest parts of city life July 22, 2021 Cities have always been the future. Development is nearly always metropolitan, regeneration usually urban. London is one of the world’s major cities, and we might expect it to be one of the fastest to bounce back from the turmoil of the last year. But will a post-pandemic world view cities in the same way? Covid [...]