Cineworld confirms May reopening plans as it lines up film deal March 23, 2021 Cineworld today confirmed plans to reopen its 127 venues in the UK in May in line with the government’s roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions. Under current guidelines, indoor socialising and hospitality will resume from 17 May, while the government aims to lift all limits on social contact in June. Cineworld today also said it will [...]
Boris Johnson may face defeat as MPs try to stop trade deals with genocidal regimes March 21, 2021 More Tory MPs have come out to support an amendment to a trade bill that would make it harder for the government to sign trade deals with countries that have committed genocide. Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has now backed the amendment, which would force ministers to justify any trade deal that is signed with [...]
All bets car off: Lamborghini enjoys most profitable year ever despite Covid-19 March 19, 2021 Lamborghini enjoyed its most profitable year ever in 2020, despite coronavirus restrictions and a two-month shutdown of its Italian factory during the pandemic. The luxury car retailer delivered 7,430 vehicles in 2020, generating a record turnover of €1.61bn. Although sales were slightly lower than in 2019, Lamborghini sold more expensive, customised supercars, sending profits soaring. The [...]
Crypto market recovery stalls, but institutional investment in Asia growing March 19, 2021 Bitcoin looks to have recovered from its inertia earlier this week, though there are still challenges ahead.
George Osborne hits out at Tory ‘hotheads’ who want UK-China ‘Cold War’ March 17, 2021 George Osborne has praised Boris Johnson for “seeing off the hotheads” in the Tory party who are calling for a more aggressive UK stance toward China. Osborne said he saw “a lot of continuity” between Johnson’s China policy, announced in yesterday’s integrated defence and foreign policy review, and his and David Cameron’s, which built stronger [...]
Government should crack down on Uighur forced labour in business supply chains, MPs say March 17, 2021 The government should toughen its anti-slavery measures to ensure that forced labour plays no part in the supply chains of major businesses, MPs have said. A report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee said that there was “compelling evidence” that major retail, media, and fashion companies are “complicit” in the forced labour [...]
China asks Alibaba to sell media assets amid crackdown on Jack Ma March 16, 2021 China is said to have asked Alibaba to sell its assets in the media sector as Beijing continues to pile pressure on the company’s billionaire founder Jack Ma. The two sides have been in discussions over the matter since the beginning of the year, according to multiple media reports, with officials said to be shocked [...]
UK says Russia is its ‘most acute threat’ as China tensions dialled down March 16, 2021 The UK government has today warned that Russia is its “most acute threat”, while also potentially extending an olive branch to China after escalating tensions over the past year. The government’s long-awaited integrated review of defence, foreign and development policy outlined a plan to pivot away from Europe and toward the Indo-Pacific in a landmark [...]
Will rising commodity prices prompt a shift for equity investors? March 16, 2021 A number of different factors are coming together to support rising commodity prices. Such price rises could have a profound effect on the type of companies equity investors want to own. After years of being out of favour, suddenly commodity-related stocks – which are often found at the value end of the spectrum – may [...]
Global growth narrative set to shift as pre-pandemic legacy issues resurface March 16, 2021 You may have missed what happened in the US and China over the past week but two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US. The second [...]