British firms draw up ‘no jab no job’ contracts ahead of lockdown easing February 18, 2021 British companies are beginning to draw up “no jab, no job” contracts after the government yesterday admitted it was “up to businesses” to decide how to enforce vaccination requirements. Barchester Healthcare, which runs more than 200 care homes across the country, said it will not hire new staff who refuse the Covid-19 vaccine on non-medical [...]
US braces for higher inflation amid pandemic recovery, warns Fed February 17, 2021 The US is trialling ways of bracing the American public for higher inflation rates as a fresh presidency attempts to heal an economy crippled by the ongoing pandemic, according to the Federal Reserve. Minutes released today from a lengthy policy meeting held by the US central bank last month revealed that Fed officials were prepared [...]
Vaccine passports mean no nightclubs until autumn, warn industry figures February 17, 2021 Vaccine passports will likely shut young people away from venues such as nightclubs, theatres and cinemas until the autumn, hospitality chiefs have warned. The Prime Minister announced on Monday that the government will prioritise rapid Covid tests to reopen “those bits [of the economy] that have been the toughest nuts to crack”. He said a [...]
CVC cashes in on British vaccine success as it buys stakes in firms behind immunisation programme February 17, 2021 CVC Capital Partners has bought stakes in two British-based companies that provide the digital architecture for the UK’s vaccine rollout. The Luxembourg-based private equity group has bought a majority stake in System C and a minority stake in its partner company Graphnet Health. The two companies run the National Immunisation Management System — the IT [...]
Lidl bomb: Three injured in explosion at supermarket’s headquarters February 17, 2021 Three people have been airlifted to hospital after a letter bomb exploded at Lidl’s headquarters in Germany. A further 100 employees were evacuated from the building in the German city of Heilbronn after the package blew up at 3pm, according to local media. A bomb squad has been deployed to the supermarket’s HQ and police [...]
FCA issues stern warning to Neil Woodford over shock comeback February 17, 2021 The UK’s financial watchdog has issued a stark warning to Neil Woodford after the disgraced financier shocked the City over the weekend by announcing he will launch a comeback firm. In a press release, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had “noted the recent comments by Neil Woodford on his future business plans”, announcing [...]
Surge testing for Covid mutations extended to London commuter areas February 16, 2021 A coronavirus testing blitz will be carried out in Surrey, Southampton and Norfolk following confirmed cases of the South Africa Covid variant in the commuter regions. Surge testing and genomic sequencing will be carried out in the GU22 postcode in Woking, SO15 in central Southampton and IP22 in Diss to tackle the “variant of concern”. [...]
Breaking: Entire UK population will ‘probably’ receive two Covid vaccine doses by August February 16, 2021 Every adult in the UK will “probably” receive both doses of a coronavirus vaccine by August, according to the head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce. Clive Dix, who runs C4X — the body that buys vaccines on behalf of the UK government — said the entire UK adult population would likely be fully vaccinated within [...]
Coronavirus: London suffers ‘heaviest job losses in UK’ during pandemic February 16, 2021 London suffered the largest number of job losses of any UK region during the pandemic last year, as the capital continues to feel the weight of a “geographically unequal crisis”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The number of London employees on payrolls dropped 5.5 per cent between February and December last year, [...]
Pandemic set to land SMEs ‘extra £173,000 debt’ each year February 16, 2021 The pandemic will likely land small businesses an additional £173,000 debt pile each year as loans taken out during the coronavirus crisis continue to pile up, according to a new report. Half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK have taken out a Covid-related loan, according to a survey of more than 1,000 [...]
