Break: Government freezes quarantine list for Christmas period but US Virgin Islands fall foul December 17, 2020 The Government has added Uruguay, Namibia and the US Virgin Islands to the list of countries returning passengers must quarantine after visiting. But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said there will be more changes to the quarantine list until January 7th, mitigating the chance of travel chaos over Christmas, unless it is an “emergency.” No [...]
Sacked PwC accountant avoids strike-off after drunkenly groping sleeping woman on plane December 17, 2020 Ex-PwC accountant James Phipps has avoided being struck off by a disciplinary body, despite serving time in jail in the US for assaulting a sleeping woman on a plane. Phipps was on a transatlantic British Airways flight in 2018 when he groped a sleeping woman’s breasts and then threw a book at her when she [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Premier League toasts beIN deal; banker set to buy Lille; breakaways boosted; Australian Open delay; and Griezmann bins Huawei December 17, 2020 Christmas cheer has arrived early at the Premier League after it agreed a new $500m deal with beIN Sports. The contract, which gives beIN exclusive broadcast rights in 24 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, is effectively a three-year extension to their deal for 2019-22. It comes as a boost to the Premier [...]
Pixar’s Soul is another existential gem from Pixar December 17, 2020 The release of Pixar’s Soul is a bittersweet experience for many movie fans. Anything that comes from the production line of the animation powerhouse feels like an event, and event movies should arrive in a cinema, not just another block of content alongside murder documentaries and Bake Off boxsets. Nonetheless, Pixar’s 23rd feature arrives on [...]
Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark: “My ideal Christmas present is an EU deal” December 17, 2020 We speak with Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark about a challenging 2020, the future of luxury and the move to electric and self-driving cars.
London and southeast in Tier 3: What are the rules? December 17, 2020 Most of the southeast of England is set to join London in Tier 3 from midnight on Friday, as the government scrambles to contain a sharp spike in coronavirus cases. The move will see Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, and the whole of Hertfordshire move into the highest level of restrictions from 0.01am on Saturday. It [...]
Breaking: Matt Hancock extends Tier 3 to most of southeast England December 17, 2020 The health secretary has extended Tier 3 to almost all of the southeast of England following a huge surge in cases, thought to be the result of a new coronavirus mutation. Speaking in the Commons, Matt Hancock said: “In the last week hospital admissions are up by nearly half. It is therefore necessary to apply [...]
PwC partners take 10 per cent cut as profits suffer December 17, 2020 Partners at PwC have suffered a 10 per cent cut to their earnings as the impact of the coronavirus hit the Big Four firm’s profits. Profits at the audit giant fell by 8 per cent to £938m in the firm’s latest financial year, as Covid-19 impacted on the business from March, with distributable profit per [...]
Rishi Sunak ‘to extend emergency Covid business loan schemes’ December 17, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend the UK’s £68bn coronavirus emergency loan schemes to help support businesses hit with the double whammy of Covid and Brexit, according to reports. Officials are drawing up plans to extend the three main loan guarantee schemes, including the government’s £43.5bn coronavirus bounce back loans programme, the Financial Times [...]
Mid-market firms optimistic about Brexit impact despite talks dragging December 17, 2020 Despite the increasing possibility of a no-deal Brexit, 38 per cent of UK mid-market business predict that Brexit would have a positive impact on their business.