The City View: Michael Hewson on Germany’s Russian energy oversights and Merkel’s legacy April 19, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Michael Hewson, Chief Markets Analyst at CMC Markets. They go through the latest IMF forecasts, which included downgrades and the worst growth forecast in the G7 for the UK; Germany’s exposure to energy price fluctuations, the mounting pressure to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas, and Angela Merkel’s [...]
Online booking agents have been behaving like kings – it’s time to topple them April 16, 2022 As the nation begins to plan summer breaks, following a tortuous two pandemic-fuelled years, a collective sigh of relief should be heard from Somerset to Stoke. But there’s little relief to be had when a broken system is driving a false market of competition. For years, the travel industry network titans have been able to [...]
Sky-high inflation forces Brits to raid pandemic savings April 13, 2022 Brits are being forced to run down their pandemic-induced savings to maintain spending amid historically steep inflation, reveals fresh figures published today. Pay is trailing behind the rate of price rises, meaning households are having to raid their war chests to maintain living standards. Over one in two Brits have already drawn from their savings [...]
The City View: Victoria Scholar on rising prices, unemployment and retail sales data; and XR cause Lloyd’s of London HQ shutdown April 12, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor. They go through some of the week’s economics data on GDP, unemployment, retail sales, and talk trading updates. They discuss the latest from ASOS, Deliveroo, and EasyJet: ASOS is facing a raft of headwinds, as investors lose confidence in the online retailer; [...]
Alarm bells ringing: British farmers warn out-of-control milk price rise may lead to dairy and cheese crisis April 9, 2022 Brits will soon face a cheese shortage as spiralling production costs hit producers, farmers are warning this weekend. A farming expert said many supermarkets are already experiencing dwindling supplies – and warned that things are going to get a lot worse. Dairy Farmer Steve Evans from Pembrokeshire told GB News cheese is already in short [...]
The metaverse could be just the tonic for social prescribing April 8, 2022 How the metaverse might alleviate social isolation, mental health and other social problems, is an intriguing exploration, says Jane Thomason.
Panic in China’s richest city as 25m residents of Covid-ridden Shanghai run out of food in world’s strictest lockdown April 8, 2022 Frustration, panic and anger is growing in Shanghai as millions of residents are struggling to get their hands on meat, rice and other food supplies while the government tries to contain a spreading Covid outbreak with anti-coronavirus controls that confine most of its 25m people to their homes, People in China’s business capital have complained [...]
Why your next meal out should be in Sheffield thanks to Jöro April 6, 2022 Taking a two hour train ride to Sheffield to dine inside a shipping container next to a bypass may sound like a hard sell, but having done exactly that last week, allow me to try… Jöro is a labour of love from husband and wife duo Luke French (chef director) and Stacey Sherwood-French (managing director). [...]
Wine tips from a real Michelin star at Trivet April 6, 2022 When I first meet Isa Bal, impressive winner of the Michelin Sommelier Award, he is smiling as he tells me a brick was thrown through his restaurant’s window last night. The would-be thief was knocked over by a car shortly afterwards and arrested. “I would not normally be happy about someone being hit by a [...]
Calories on the menu: Bosses fear new rules for restaurants will leave a sour taste April 6, 2022 Diners are being confronted with the calorie contents of meals at some restaurants under new laws that come into effect today – but could this do more harm than good? Hospitality bosses have said the changes come at the worst possible time, as the sector endeavours to recuperate pandemic losses while staring down the barrel [...]