To make Britain competitive globally, we must strip away regulatory red tape April 13, 2021 Last month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made a ruling which blocked the merger of the two British crowdfunding sites Seedrs and Crowdcube. This was wrong for a slew of reasons, not the least because Seedrs and Crowdcube are both tiny companies that should be below the regulatory radar. Both companies are currently [...]
Rolled out in England from today: All we know about the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine April 13, 2021 The Moderna coronavirus vaccine is set to be rolled out in England from today. It comes after the first doses were delivered in Wales and Scotland last week and follows the rollout of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, which began in December and January respectively. It is the third vaccine to be added to the [...]
Former Labour minister Baroness Shirley Williams dead at 90 April 12, 2021 Former Labour cabinet secretary and Liberal Democrat life peer Baroness Shirley Williams has died today at the age of 90. Williams was one of the original “gang of four” that broke with the Labour Party in 1981 to create the Social Democrat Party (SDP), after unhappiness with Labour’s left-wing turn under Michael Foot. The SDP [...]
Support for Brexit soars after UK-EU vaccines war, says new poll April 12, 2021 A new poll has revealed that two-in-three Britons think Brexit helped the UK’s vaccine rollout and that support for leaving the EU has risen in the wake of a row over vaccines. A poll by JL Partners/Bloomberg today showed 67 per cent of Britons thought the EU had acted in a “hostile” way during the [...]
UK and EU move closer to agreement on Brexit rules in Northern Ireland April 12, 2021 The UK and EU are reportedly close to resolving a dispute over post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland in a breakthrough that could help halt rising tensions in Belfast. Brussels launched legal action against the UK earlier this year over its decision to unilaterally postpone new checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: the FOMO market is over – so, what’s next? April 12, 2021 Maybe lockdown has made me more middle aged and boring. I’m just not as interested in trendy stuff any more, both in my personal life (I opted for a VW ID3, not a Tesla, after all) and now in investing. But in today’s markets a more boring approach – favouring diversification and judiciousness over more [...]
Northern Ireland: Special forces deployed in Belfast as riots continue April 11, 2021 Undercover special forces soldiers have been deployed in Belfast as rioting by gangs of young unionists continued over the weekend. Dozens of officers have been injured over the past two weeks in Northern Ireland as violent rioting in Belfast has gradually escalated. Images of petrol bombs and fireworks being thrown at police and over Belfast’s [...]
Northern Ireland riots: who stirred the combustible pot of tensions? April 10, 2021 Rioting is not uncommon in Northern Ireland, nor is the sight of young people throwing missiles at the police. They do, however, tend to be wearily predictable in terms of dates and locations. Twelfth July, the Protestant celebration of the anniversary of the battle of Boyne, is a flash point, and skirmishes often centre around [...]
COP26: Is the City ready for its leading role in the fight against climate change? April 10, 2021 Windows were smashed at Barclays headquarters this week by climate activists who urged the bank to cut its climate destructive investments. Last week campaigners painted the Bank of England (BoE) black in a bid to raise the alarm on the institution’s funding of Big Oil. Where money goes within the City is under more scrutiny [...]
Gupta says ‘aggressive’ creditors threaten steel jobs April 9, 2021 Sanjeev Gupta has today hit out at that the “aggressive tactics” of his steel empire’s creditors were putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk. Since the collapse of supply chain financiers Greensill, Gupta’s GFG Alliance has been teetering on the brink of insolvency, having had a £170m bailout bid rejected by ministers. The firm, [...]