West End boss reiterates calls for extended Sunday trading hours August 4, 2021 New West Company End Company has called on the Government for continued support to help the area as post-pandemic trade rebuilds. The company wrote to business minister Kwasi Kwarteng earlier this spring to ask for the West End and Knightsbridge international centres to be added to the list of exemptions in the 1994 Sunday Trading [...]
The Office: Time for Government to offer certainty and direction August 4, 2021 Life has changed immeasurably over the past eighteen months, and the world of work is no different. Many office workers have now been working from home for over a year and habits have changed. Is hybrid working the future? There are certainly plenty of advocates suggesting that sofas, laptops and 8:59 alarm clocks are the [...]
Moscow Metro introduces face recognition payment system August 3, 2021 The Tube has Oyster cards and the New York subway its Metrocards, but Moscow’s Metro is going one better – rolling out ticketing based on facial recognition technology. The Face Pay technology use biometric data and bank card details to recognise, and charge, travellers on the Metro. The tech is currently being trialled on the [...]
Westminster becomes newest borough to join London’s e-scooter trials August 2, 2021 E-scooters will be rolling out across the West End after Westminster Council and TfL agreed to extend a trial of the new transport tech into the hear of the capital. Westminster has now joined Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Richmond, Kensington & Chelsea, Canary Wharf and Southwark in the trial. The use of privately owned e-scooters [...]
The return of the West End: rebuilding a delicate ecosystem of workers and culture August 1, 2021 While London’s West End may be known for its flagship stores, Michelin star restaurants, world-class hotels and unrivalled theatres, it is also home to a thriving office sector. One in ten Londoners are employed in the West End across various industries, from retail and leisure through to finance and real estate. This ecosystem of industries [...]
Analysis: Is AI really set to transform the banking industry? July 31, 2021 The future, or a fad? Shameek Kundu, Head of Financial Services at TruEra, looks at whether AI’s credibility gap could hold back the banking industry. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely seen as key to the banking industry’s transformation. Industry surveys, including one from the Bank of England, suggest that two in every three financial institutions have adopted AI in [...]
Covid case rates fall in every English local authority as R rate dips for first time in weeks July 30, 2021 Covid case rates have fallen in every local authority in England for the first time since comparable figures have been recorded, while the “R” rate has decreased for the first time in weeks. Not one of England’s 315 local authorities recorded a rise in Covid cases in the week to 26 July, according to analysis [...]
Wall Street dragged down by sinking Amazon shares July 30, 2021 US stocks fell sharply on Friday morning driven by shares in Amazon sinking after the EU slapped the firm with a record fine. The blue-chip S&P 500 dropped 0.51 per cent, while the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 0.36 per cent and 0.66 per cent respectively. Shares in Amazon sunk as much as 7.1 per [...]
NatWest notches up £2.5bn in ‘resilient’ first half, as lending rises July 30, 2021 NatWest roped in some 2.5bn in operating profit before tax in the past six months, swinging from a loss of £770m in the first half of 2020. The British bank’s net lending rose by £2.2bn to £362.7bn in the six months to 30 June, while UK and RBSI retail and commercial businesses pushed lending to [...]
Travel industry welcomes end of quarantine for double-jabbed EU & US citizens but concerns remain July 28, 2021 Airlines and travel firms today hailed the news that the UK will drop quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US next week but warned more changes were needed. Industry body Airlines UK said: “Exemptions for all fully vaccinated travellers is undoubtedly a positive move, offering a lifeline for thousands of businesses [...]