Chinese New Year 2020 in London: Where to celebrate the Year of the Rat January 25, 2020 With the Chinese New Year officially upon us, it is time to decide how to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rat – the first animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle. In Chinese culture, the rat is seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Married couples would also traditionally pray to the [...]
FTSE 100 leaps after WHO eases coronavirus fears January 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 stormed ahead today, more than clawing back the losses incurred yesterday as investors’ fears over the spread of the coronavirus mounted. The World Health Organisation yesterday stopped short of declaring the outbreak in China an emergency for the rest of the world. European equities gained in response today, before posting further jumps [...]
Prime Minister says Cobra committee will meet to discuss coronavirus January 24, 2020 The government’s Cobra emergency committee will meet today to discuss Coronavirus, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said. Public Health England yesterday said that 14 people in the UK had been tested for the virus, with five testing negative and the others awaiting results. It follows the news that the Great Wall of China will be closed [...]
Coronavirus: China widens travel lockdown as death toll rises January 24, 2020 Fourteen people in the UK have been tested for a new strain of the coronavirus, with five testing negative as the others await results, Public Health England said today. An incident team has made a base in Scotland where five people were tested amid 830 confirmed cases of the virus across the world. The death [...]
Hua you gonna call? Why Britain’s 5G infrastructure decision has real implications January 23, 2020 Britain looks set to decide on Chinese titan Huawei’s role in 5G infrastructure next week. Political Editor Catherine Neilan looks at why it matters so much If campaigning is poetry, governing is prose – so goes one of the iron rules of politics. Tough, controversial decisions must be made, and one of Boris Johnson’s first [...]
Tiktok inks licensing deal as it gears up for music streaming launch January 23, 2020 Tiktok has secured a licensing deal with a major music rights agency, marking a key step forward in the social media firm’s plans to launch a new rival to Spotify. The Chinese video app today said it has entered into a multi-territory partnership with Merlin, which represents tens of thousands of independent record labels. The [...]
FTSE 100 slumps on increased coronavirus fears January 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell after the open this morning, taking its cue from its Asian peers, which slumped amid growing concerns over the spread of the new flu-like coronavirus from China. Britain’s blue chip index opened down, and was trading 0.49 per cent down by 8.30am, with miners and oil majors weighing on the index. [...]
Coronavirus: Heathrow airport to separate arrivals as concern grows January 22, 2020 Heathrow has set up a separate arrivals area for people travelling from the Chinese city hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said Heathrow was putting “additional measures” in place this morning to protect against the virus. “Initially this is to ensure that when flights come in directly into Heathrow there is a [...]
Amazon breaks $200bn mark as world’s most valuable brand January 22, 2020 Online retail titan Amazon has defended its position as the world’s most valuable brand for a third year in a row, with the firm becoming the first to break the $200bn (£153bn) mark. Jeff Bezos’ company is worth $220.8bn in total, over $60bn more than second-placed Google, which is worth $159.7bn, according to the annual [...]
Housebuilders lead FTSE 100 bounce as coronavirus fears abate January 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 rebounded this morning following its worst performance in two weeks on Tuesday, with housebuilders leading the blue chip index after Berkeley raised its planned shareholder returns. The index gained 0.10 per cent in morning trading, led by Berkley. The company climbed as much as 5.40 per cent to hit a record high [...]