S&P rises as Biden’s stimulus heads to the Senate March 1, 2021 The news that Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill had passed through Congress over the weekend helped give investors confidence, pushing markets up round the world. The bill will now move to the Senate, where the Democrats hold the casting vote. The S&P 500 rose 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq jumped 2.9 per cent [...]
Jordan B Peterson interview: The unlikely conservative superstar March 1, 2021 As Jordan Peterson’s new book Beyond Order is released, we revisit our 2018 interview with the unlikely conservative superstar, discussing the high price of fame, causing offence and that interview with Cathy Newman. ••• Professor Jordan B Peterson’s apartment smells of meat. It’s 8am and his wife, Tammy, is fastidiously slicing a pile of steaks, [...]
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group burns through £5.5m a month during lockdown March 1, 2021 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has said it expects to burn through £5.5m a month until lockdown restrictions are lifted. The group announced details of the cash burn rate at Christmas but today said it expected to stay at this level until the end of restrictions, which are due to be lifted no earlier than [...]
Online share of grocery sales hits record level during third lockdown March 1, 2021 The third national lockdown pushed the share of online grocery sales to a record high in January, double the level the previous month. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping with Britain’s big four supermarkets expanding their capacity during the crisis. The online share of grocery sales hit 16 per cent in January, [...]
Bringing London back to life is about more than a return to offices – the capital is fighting for its soul February 28, 2021 Everyone who has moved to London from somewhere else remembers their first night here. I remember mine. My wife and I had dinner in a tiny Indian restaurant in Wembley near the GPs surgery where she’d be working as a nurse. I didn’t have a job yet – but I had that pure excitement that [...]
Anas Sarwar elected new leader of Scottish Labour party February 27, 2021 Anas Sarwar has this morning been announced as the new leader of the Scottish Labour party after defeating Monica Lennon in a snap election. The vote was triggered when former leader Richard Leonard stepped down in January, saying it was in the best interests of the party. Sarwar’s election comes just three months before elections [...]
The green spirits revolution, and no absinthe in sight February 26, 2021 There have been an uncountable number of words written about how the restaurant industry has had to adapt to survive, and altogether fewer on how the premium booze market is staying afloat. Like the hospitality trade, spirits distillers and winemakers have seen a huge portion of their trade wiped out over lockdown, unable to sell [...]
How New York invented the business breakfast February 25, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Melissa York’s trip to New York to find the original business breakfast. ••• Every morning, Leigh Wynn, the maitre d’ of the most expensive and exclusive breakfast spot in New York, wakes up at [...]
Best of travel: Why Panama is Latin America’s hot holiday destination February 24, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Alex Dymoke’s trip to Panama to see if it really is all hats and canals. ••• In Britain, Panama is famous for two things: the canal and canoe man. Back in 2002, John Darwin [...]
Top London chefs expect summer gold-rush to toast end of Covid February 24, 2021 The last 12 months have thoroughly rewired our attitudes to eating and drinking. Once second nature, now the thought of just popping out to a restaurant feels impossibly decadent. But chefs and restaurateurs, many of whom have borne the brunt of Covid restrictions, are now expecting a period of full houses and fat tips. We [...]