Wall Street slips despite better than expected US jobs data March 4, 2021 US stocks opened lower on Thursday as Wall Street reckoned with yesterday’s technology-led selloff, despite new data showing an improved US employment market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 2.4 per cent this afternoon, with carpet company Dixie Group pulling the index down with a 48 per cent drop. Tesla shares extended yesterday’s loss of more than [...]
Italy blocks Astrazeneca shipment to Australia as vaccine shortage row escalates March 4, 2021 The Italian government has blocked the export of an Astrazeneca vaccine shipment to Australia as a row over EU shortages continues to escalate. Astrazeneca had requested permission from the Italian government to export around 250,000 vaccine doses made at its Anagni plant near Rome to Australia. However, Italian authorities blocked the request after the British-Swedish [...]
Matt Hancock urges ‘vigilance’ as decline in Covid infections starts to slow March 4, 2021 The health secretary has urged people to “remain vigilant” as the decline in coronavirus cases has slowed down across parts of the country and in some regions reversed, latest figures showed. Imperial College London’s latest React study found the prevalence of Covid across England slumped by two-thirds between 22 January and 13 February. However, the [...]
Boris Johnson announces £70m fund to tackle obesity crisis March 4, 2021 The Prime Minister has announced councils in England will receive an extra £70m to help overweight and obese people to slim down, including plans to offer financial rewards for those who manage to lose weight. Around 700,000 people across the country will benefit from weight loss courses from providers such as Weight Watchers or Slimming [...]
Budget 2021: Main points in Rishi Sunak’s announcement March 4, 2021 The chancellor unveiled the contents of his Budget in the Commons this afternoon, announcing a raft of new support measures alongside plans to shore up Britain’s finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rishi Sunak doubled down on his commitment to do “whatever it takes” to protect lives and livelihoods as he set out [...]
Brexit: EU raises ‘strong concerns’ about grace period extension March 3, 2021 The EU will raise “strong concerns” about Britain’s extension of a grace period for checks on agricultural and food products heading to Northern Ireland, the vice president of the European Commission has said. Maros Sefcovic said he will speak to David Frost, the Prime Minister’s Europe Adviser, on the implementation of EU-UK agreements tonight. “I’ll [...]
Nicola Sturgeon faces calls to resign over Alex Salmond revelations March 3, 2021 Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign amid claims she lied to Parliament over her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga. The Scottish government has published emails showing it continued a doomed legal fight with Salmond despite lawyers saying it was likely to lose. In a devastating blow before her appearance at [...]
Tory mayor candidate under fire for saying people would blow Universal Basic Income on ‘lots of drugs’ March 2, 2021 The Conservative candidate for London mayor has come under fire for saying people would blow Universal Basic Income (UBI) on “lots of drugs”. Liberal Democrats and Greens on the London Assembly have pushed for a trial of the scheme, which would hand all citizens a set sum of money on a regular basis regardless of [...]
KPMG ‘to sell’ restructuring arm in £400m deal March 2, 2021 Big four accountancy firm KPMG is set to announce the sale of its UK restructuring arm in a deal worth £400m, according to reports, as the company braces for sweeping new audit reforms. The division, which will be renamed Interpath Advisory, will automatically become the largest restructuring firm in the UK by employee count, Sky [...]
Budget 2021: What to expect from Rishi Sunak’s three-point plan tomorrow afternoon March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak has hinted that he will extend a wide range of government support schemes in tomorrow’s Budget, as he again pledged to do “whatever it takes” to restore the British economy from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. It may be only Sunak’s second Budget as chancellor, but it comes after delivering almost a [...]
