Wall Street hits fresh highs as bull run continues apace August 24, 2020 Wall Street once again closed at record highs this evening as stocks soared on optimism over a potential new treatment for the coronavirus disease. Having last week reclaimed February’s pre-pandemic highs, neither the benchmark S&P 500 nor the Nasdaq showed any signs of slowing down, as the fastest ever recovery from a bear market continued [...]
Hong Kong man becomes first documented case of coronavirus reinfection August 24, 2020 A man from Hong Kong has today become the first documented case of someone being reinfected with coronavirus after recovering from the virus, researchers at the University of Hong Kong have confirmed. In April, the man was discharged from hospital having been cleared of the disease, but tested positive again after returning to Hong Kong [...]
Tiktok sues Donald Trump over executive order banning video app August 24, 2020 Tiktok and parent company Bytedance have today sued US President Donald Trump over his decision to sign an executive order banning the short-form video app. In a blog post earlier today, the firm said that it had been left with “no choice” but to sue the president, adding that it strongly disagreed with the White [...]
UK looks at curbing use of products made from illegal deforestation August 24, 2020 A new law that would fine UK companies for using products in their supply chains that have been grown through illegal deforestation is being considered by the government. The proposed new legislation, which will soon be put through a consultation phase, would see companies forced to show that products in their supply chain – like [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks soar on coronavirus treatment hopes August 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped and US stocks hit fresh highs after the US authorised a new coronavirus treatment, lifting the mood among global investors. London’s blue-chip index rose 1.7 per cent to close at 6,104 points. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms rose 0.6 per cent. Read more: Asian stocks climb after Wall Street [...]
Moderna set to provide EU with 80m doses of coronavirus vaccine August 24, 2020 US drugs firm Moderna today announced that it had concluded initial talks with the European Union to supply 80m doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine. Under the potential purchase agreement, the EU will have the option to acquire an additional 80m doses of the treatment, for a total of up to 160m doses. A phase [...]
PwC resigns as auditor of gold miner Petropavlovsk on governance concerns August 24, 2020 PwC has resigned as the auditor of under-fire gold miner Petropavlovsk due to concerns over the firm’s corporate governance after a long-running boardroom battle. The FTSE 250 miner today confirmed that the Big Four accountant had turned down its appointment as Petropavlovsk’s auditor. According to the Russia-focused company, PwC cited “the recent significant changes in [...]
Zoom down: Thousands of users unable to make calls as video app crashes August 24, 2020 Thousands of people in the UK and US were left unable to access work calls this afternoon after video conferencing app Zoom suffered a partial outage. Outage tracking website Down Detector showed there were nearly 15,000 reports of outages on the platform. These were concentrated on the east coast of the US, but also impacted [...]
UK-Japan trade deal to be completed by next week August 24, 2020 The UK is expecting to have a free trade deal with Japan wrapped up by next week, after just under three months of negotiations. A Downing Street official today told journalists that the government expects to complete the deal before September, meaning by next Monday at the latest. The completion of a deal would be [...]
Virgin Atlantic unveils coronavirus insurance package on eve of crunch bailout vote August 24, 2020 Virgin Atlantic has today unveiled a comprehensive new coronavirus insurance package for all new and existing bookings up until the end of March next year. The new offer was revealed on the eve of a crunch High Court vote on a £1.2bn bailout package that could keep the carrier flying if it is approved. The [...]
