The City View: Lord Barker on the ‘compelling case’ to extend the furlough scheme August 13, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In this episode Christian talks to former energy and climate change minister Greg (now Lord) Barker, who currently sits as executive chairman of Russian energy and metals giant EN+ Group. Lord Barker begins by assessing the current economic conditions and says there is a compelling case to extend the [...]
UK house prices move out of negative territory for first time since March August 13, 2020 UK house prices gained momentum last month, moving out of negative territory for the first time since lockdown began as the government’s stamp duty holiday motivated buyers. However the bounce is not expected to last long, as government support schemes wind down in the winter. UK house prices firm up Across the UK in aggregate, [...]
London house prices fall despite market’s coronavirus recovery August 13, 2020 London house prices continued to fall in July, new data revealed today, despite an increase in demand from new buyers. Respondents to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Survey also do not expect this demand to continue, as wider government support measures begin to be phased out later in the year. Buyers [...]
London pubs and restaurants suffer sharp sales drop in July August 13, 2020 UK pubs, bars and restaurants suffered a 50 per cent drop in sales in July as the sector reopened after lockdown, with London the worst affected area in the country, according to the latest research. London venues were the worst hit, falling 58.3 per cent last month, compared to July 2019, while hospitality firms outside [...]
More than 3m older people can’t downsize due to lack of suitable housing August 13, 2020 More than 3m people in the UK over the age of 65 want to downsize to a smaller home but can’t due to a lack of suitable housing and a competitive market. Ahead of the Autumn Budget, a report by Homes for Later Living called for ministers to set a goal of building 30,000 retirement [...]
Lyft maintains end-2021 profitability goal August 12, 2020 Lyft said today that cuts had put the company on track to reach its goal of becoming profitable on an adjusted basis by the end of 2021, even as its revenue fell 61 per cent. Quarterly revenue fell to $339.3m, as the pandemic crushed demand for ride-hailing services in North America. The ride-hailing app said [...]
With five months to prepare, the A-level results fiasco is a scandal of the government’s own making August 12, 2020 A-level results day is always fraught with drama. Whether its moral panic of grade inflation, handwringing about the relative value of a university degree, or outrage over news stories being illustrated by delighted blonde girls jumping into the air with joy, results day “scandal” it’s a staple of the August news calendar. This year is [...]
London swelters in longest stretch of hot weather in almost 60 years August 12, 2020 Central London has now recorded its longest stretch of high temperatures since the 1960s, as the capital enters its sixth day of hot weather. Temperatures in London today surpassed 34 degrees for the sixth day in a row — the first time it has done that since 1961, the Met Office said. It comes as [...]
UK coronavirus death toll lowered after methodology change August 12, 2020 The official death toll from coronavirus in the UK was lowered by over 5,000 today after the government adopted a new way of counting fatalities. Concerns had been raised that the old method overstated the number of deaths, as it counted every death after someone had been diagnosed with coronavirus with no cut-off point. From [...]
Goldman and Barclays eye General Motors’ credit card business August 12, 2020 Goldman Sachs and Barclays are reportedly among bidders for General Motors credit card unit. The two banks are among a small number of suitors for the car company’s credit card business which has about $3bn (£2.3bn) in outstanding balances, according to The Wall Street Journal. Goldman currently has a relatively small presence in consumer banking, [...]
