Boris Johnson urges caution as falling Covid case numbers raise hopes for UK July 27, 2021 The Prime Minister said that people should not get carried away by six days of lower Covid case numbers in the UK, and warned that the effects of Freedom Day had not yet fed through to the data. Johnson urged people not to get complacent or jump to premature conclusions after the UK recorded six [...]
Lorry driver shortage ‘could hit Black Friday and Christmas’ July 27, 2021 A senior executive at one of the UK’s largest logistics companies has warned that supply chains are facing six to 12 months of pressure due to the current shortage of lorry drivers. Ian Keilty, chief operating officer at FTSE firm Wincanton, said that both Black Friday and Christmas shopping could be hampered by the shortfall. [...]
Thousands of websites including Amazon, UPS, HSBC, BA, Airbnb and HBO hit in major global outage July 22, 2021 A major server outage brought down thousands of websites across the UK, US and around the world, including HSBC, Barclays, American Express, Delta Airlines, Tesco Bank, alongside the PlayStation Network, Airbnb and Waitrose, as well as ITV and TSB. British Airways was also down. A message on the BA website read: “Service Unavailable – DNS [...]
US stocks open flat on weak jobless claims July 22, 2021 US stocks opened broadly flat on Thursday morning after fresh data showed the American labour market recovery may be stalling. The blue-chip S&P 500 inched down 0.01 per cent during the open, while the Nasdaq crept up 0.23 per cent. The Dow Jones slipped 0.17 per cent. The lack of movement on the US’ main [...]
ECB holds rates at record low to fuel inflation July 22, 2021 The European Central Bank has kept interest rates at a record low in a bid to stimulate higher price growth to help it reach its two per cent inflation target. The central bank of the 19 nations that share the euro said it intends to keep rates at historic lows for longer than first estimated. [...]
Charity, dating and pet spending rises as restrictions relax July 22, 2021 As Covid restrictions continue to ease, Britons spend more on charity, dating and their pets. Building society Nationwide said today that spending also surged on holidays, among many other activities, between April to June, as well as eating and drinking, leisure, gardening and clothing. Nationwide analysed millions of transactions by its customers from April to [...]
Fair regulation would prove to be a bullish thing for cryptocurrency July 20, 2021 Whether inside or outside the Metaverse, when you steal from the rich and give to the poor, the economy collapses, argues Dr Chris Kacher.
Pingdemic: 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users have turned contact tracing off July 20, 2021 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users currently have their Bluetooth or contact tracing turned off on their phones, as more than half a million people were “pinged” into isolation last week. As the Delta variant rips through the UK and most restrictions lift, a third of Brits using the NHS app have admitted to [...]
US retail sales smash expectations to surge above pre-pandemic levels July 16, 2021 Retail sales in the US surged unexpectedly last month, providing further evidence that the American economy is roaring back to life after Covid. Sales were 18 per cent higher annually in June and are now above pre-pandemic levels, primarily driven by a sharp uptick in spending in the hospitality industry. Read more: US inflation surges [...]
India’s tech startup scene takes off as Paytm files for $2.2bn IPO July 16, 2021 Indian fintech startup Paytm has tabled plans to raise up to $2.2bn in an initial public offering, as the pandemic has stoked India’s digital economy. The Alibaba, Berkshire Hathaway, and SoftBank-backed firm said it will issue new shares worth $1.1bn and an offer for sale worth another $1.1bn. The startup, which competes with Google Pay [...]