Capita announces major restructure alongside plans to raise £700m March 17, 2021 Outsourcing giant Capita has announced a fresh restructuring plan alongside efforts to raise £700m from selling non-core assets, as it seeks to recover from a difficult year during the pandemic. The group, which provides IT-led business services to the public and private sector, will simplify its six operations into three divisions. Capita Public Service will [...]
Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher as markets shrug off Astrazeneca saga March 16, 2021 Wall Street rose to record highs this afternoon as tech stocks gained momentum ahead of a two-day policy meeting for the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up 0.27 per cent to an all-time high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.17 per cent, extending a rebound in stocks following last month’s sell-off. The Dow Jones [...]
EU medicines regulator: ‘No indication’ Astrazeneca vaccine causes blood clots March 16, 2021 The EU’s medicines regulator has insisted there is “no indication” that Astrazeneca’s Covid vaccine causes blood clots among patients, after a swathe of European countries suspended the jab over safety concerns. Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said the agency remains “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the Astrazeneca vaccine outweigh the [...]
Covid: Antibody levels hit fresh record as one in three people in England show immunity March 16, 2021 One in three people in England are estimated to have coronavirus antibodies either from past infection or vaccination, according to the latest official figures. The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest infection survey showed that almost 35 per cent of the English population tested positive for antibodies on a blood test in the 28 days [...]
EU orders more Pfizer vaccine doses as Sweden joins countries halting Astrazeneca jab March 16, 2021 The EU has ordered more doses of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine to plug a shortfall that has arisen from a swathe of countries banning the Astrazeneca jab over safety concerns. European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen announced on Twitter that the EU had agreed an “accelerated delivery of 10m doses” of the Pfizer vaccine to [...]
Costain swings to £96m loss in ‘exceptionally challenging’ year during pandemic March 16, 2021 Infrastructure firm Costain has swung to a loss of almost £100m as it struggled through an “exceptionally challenging year” during the pandemic. The group posted a statutory reported loss before tax of £96.1m for the 12 months to 30 December, down from a profit of £6.6m in 2019. The figure included significant sums from two [...]
E-commerce firm Bango sees profit soar in online lockdown boom March 16, 2021 Data-driven commerce company Bango saw revenue and profit soar last year as the group celebrated a boom in online payments during the pandemic. Revenue at the company rocketed 70 per cent to £12.2m last year as it inked new deals with Google and Amazon — up from £7.2m the year before. Bango also recovered from a [...]
FTSE 100 closes in the red as Astrazeneca doubts weigh on index March 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 closed in the red this afternoon as growing doubt over the efficacy of the Astrazeneca vaccine weighed on hopes for a swift economic recovery from the pandemic across Europe.
Government signs deals for 200m rapid Covid tests ahead of lockdown lifting March 15, 2021 The government has signed deals with two British companies to supply 200m rapid Covid-19 tests ahead of plans to roll out a “mass testing blitz” once lockdown restrictions are lifted. The Department of Health announced it has inked agreements with Scotland-based Omega Diagnostics and Bedforshire-headquartered Global Access Diagnostics to produce the tests, which have a [...]
France, Italy follow Germany in suspending Astrazeneca vaccine over blood clot concerns March 15, 2021 France, Italy follow Germany in suspending Astrazeneca vaccine over blood clot concerns
