Coronavirus: UK retailers launch action plan to win back Chinese visitors March 5, 2020 Retailers have this morning launched a battle plan to tackle the impact of coronavirus on the sector, as a sharp drop in Chinese visitors has hurt UK high streets. The international retail sector has set up a new Association of International Retail, which has unveiled a recovery plan for the industry which will be put [...]
Huawei is uniting Tory backbenchers – but can they win over Saj? March 4, 2020 What Brexit put asunder, Huawei appears to be joining. Yesterday morning, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith led a debate about the Chinese firm’s involvement in the UK’s 5G infrastructure. He was joined by plenty of Conservative MPs you might expect – fellow Leavers David Davis, Bob Seely and Owen Paterson – and plenty of [...]
A Flu to a Kill: James Bond film No Time To Die delayed over coronavirus March 4, 2020 The release date of the eagerly-anticipated new James Bond film has been pushed back seven months due to the coronavirus. No Time To Die, which will feature Daniel Craig in his final appearance as 007, was due to be released in the UK on 2 April. But a statement released today on the dapper spy’s [...]
Ant Financial takes minority stake in fintech unicorn Klarna March 4, 2020 The highest valued fintech company in the world, Ant Financial, has taken a minority stake in payments platform Klarna. The “buy now pay later” specialist confirmed that Alipay owner Ant Financial had bought a less than one per cent stake, but refused to disclose how much it is worth. Ant Financial is part of the [...]
US senators urge MPs to rethink Huawei 5G decision March 4, 2020 A group of senior US senators has written to MPs urging them to rethink the UK’s decision to allow Huawei to help build its 5G networks. Twenty senators, including both Democrats and Republicans, expressed “significant” concern with the decision, citing “significant security, privacy and economic threats”. In January the government gave Huawei the green light [...]
Chinese passenger car sales fall 80 per cent in February March 4, 2020 Sales of passenger cars in China fell 80 per cent in February due to the coronavirus impact, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The industry body did not give an exact sales figure, but earlier this month had reported that for the first 16 days of February only 4,909 units were sold, down [...]
Sirius shareholders approve controversial Anglo American £405m takeover March 3, 2020 Investors have approved a controversial rescue bid by rival Anglo American for troubled mining firm Sirius Minerals. The meeting in London today approved the deal with 80.3 per cent of votes in favour and 19.7 per cent against. It will provide a saving grace for Sirius’ north Yorkshire mine, which was set to be closed [...]
Decision won’t be made on future of Ellesmere Port car plant until state of EU trading relationship becomes clear March 3, 2020 A final decision on the future of Ellesmere Port’s car plant will likely not be made until the end of the year. The car industry has been one of many saying it could be adversely affected if a trade deal is not struck. PSA, which is currently merging with Italy’s Fiat Chrysler, makes its Vauxhall [...]
The private sector can be the engine of the low-carbon revolution March 3, 2020 When Al Gore made An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, he pointed to the fact that the Chinese characters for “crisis” signify both “danger” and “opportunity”. In the years since, the conversations around tackling climate change have often been framed by what industries and governments stand to lose in the immediate future by acting. Advocates have [...]
No fly zone: As coronavirus fears grow, airlines must brace for the worst March 3, 2020 One of last month’s more outlandish news stories was the report that the coronavirus outbreak had caused an upsurge in private jet inquiries. More wealthy travellers than ever, it seems, are willing to pay thousands of pounds an hour for a plane unto themselves, in an attempt to dodge the risk of getting infected. The [...]