Mark Zuckerberg and team consider shutting down Facebook and Instagram in Europe if Meta can not process Europeans’ data on US servers February 10, 2022 If Meta is not given the option to transfer, store and process data from its European users on US-based servers, Facebook and Instagram may be shut down across Europe, the social media giants’ owner reportedly warned in its annual report. The key issue for Meta is transatlantic data transfers, regulated via the so-called Privacy Shield [...]
London markets boosted by financials rally February 9, 2022 London markets soared yesterday to a two-year high driven by a rally among travel stocks after the UK government signalled it intends to scrap remaining Covid-19 rules soon. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index rose 1.01 per cent to 7,643.42 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of [...]
Competition watchdog brands Amazon as ‘grocery retailer’ enforcing UK supplier protection February 9, 2022 UK competition watchdog has branded Amazon as a “grocery retailer” after the ecommerce giant announced it would be increasing its activity in the sector, with plans to launch 15 new Amazon Fresh stores in London. The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision is aimed at protecting suppliers and ensuring fairer payment terms, forcing Amazon, as [...]
Hunting for “10 baggers” – how the UK beat the US February 9, 2022 The ups and downs of US technology stocks dominate headlines. Before this year’s tech correction it would have been hard to miss the news, for instance, that Apple’s market capitalisation had exceeded $3 trillion. That was not too far short of the entire value of the UK stock market. What is less well known, however, [...]
UK loses £7bn from Omicron restrictions’ impact on travel and tourism February 8, 2022 The UK has lost around £7bn from the impact of Omicron restrictions on travel and tourism, according to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) data. “Imposing unnecessary travel restrictions to ‘deal’ with Omicron was not backed by science and cost the UK economy £7bn in lost revenues,” said WTTC’s chief executive Julia Simpson. “Travel is [...]
CarFinance 247 reports 11 per cent increase in prices following used-car market boom February 8, 2022 UK motor finance platform CarFinance 247 has registered an 11 per cent increase in the average price of vehicles sold going up from £9,364 in October 2020 to £10,434 a year later. As a result of supply chain issues and strikingly high levels of demand, prices have gone up almost 30 per cent on 2019 [...]
Perfect storm of rising costs to hit retail return February 8, 2022 Total retail sales jumped 7.5 per cent during January compared to the same month in 2020. However, retail bosses have warned consumers and firms face a challenging few months ahead with a perfect storm of rising costs. Shoppers were less eager to buy non-food items in stores over the three months to January, compared to [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? February 8, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Hilton Hiltonhas appointed a travel industry veteran to take on the role of vice president of focused service operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Pauline Wilson, who brings more than 25 years of experience to [...]
London receives cap reduction in government crackdown on private parking fines February 7, 2022 London will receive a smaller overall reduction as part of a government crackdown on private parking fines which will protect motorists from “aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.” Under a new parking code of practice introduced by the government today, the cap for private parking fines will be cut in half, going from £100 to [...]
Legal & General snaps up Spitalfields offices, with management fund portfolio now worth £3.8bn February 7, 2022 Legal & General’s investment portfolio has swelled to £3.8bn, with five fresh acquisitions across the office, leisure and industrial sectors. The new deals total £150m and cover around 600,000sq ft, including the purchase of 20,821 sq ft of offices at 45 Folgate Street in Spitalfields for £26.8m Through its management fund, L&G has also purchased [...]