With little ado, a divided United Kingdom casts off into the Brexit unknown January 3, 2021 By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom began the New Year outside the European Union’s orbit on Friday after ending a tempestuous 48-year liaison with the European project, its most significant geopolitical shift since the loss of empire. Brexit took effect in substance on Thursday at the strike of midnight [...]
Footfall collapses on Boxing Day as retailers count the cost of restrictions December 27, 2020 Retailers across the country saw one of their busiest days of the year end with a whimper rather than a bang as Covid-19 restrictions saw High Street footfall collapse. Across the country, retail footfall fell by 60 per cent, according to market watcher Springboard. Read more: Retailers hope for a digital boost but the end [...]
Brits to splash out £2.7bn across Britain as virtual sales kick off December 26, 2020 Retailers are expected to enjoy a bumper Boxing Day as Brits head to online and physical sales. New data from Barclaycard suggests Brits could spend as much as £2.7bn across the January sales. Read more: Free ports and smart investment are the Brexit prize, says Gove But data from the West End’s leading retailers paints [...]
Property developer British Land agrees £401m sale of West End offices December 23, 2020 British Land has agreed the £401m sale of a 75 per cent stake in three buildings in the West End to Allianz Real Estate. The portfolio includes three buildings; 10 Portman Square, Marble Arch House and York House, all of which are in Marylebone. As a result of the sale British Land will form a [...]
From Industrialized Yield Farming to Hydroponics December 16, 2020 Over the course of 2020 the liquidity locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols has grown in rapid fashion with use cases such as crypto-backed lending, decentralized exchanges (DEX’s) and insurance bringing the Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi to its current peak ~$15 billion with the majority of this capital existing on the Ethereum blockchain. [...]
JD Sports expands US footprint with purchase of Shoe Palace for $325m December 15, 2020 JD Sports has agreed to buy California-based sportswear brand Shoe Palace in an all-cash deal worth $325m (£243.7m), the company has announced. Genesis, the US owner of JD Sports, will acquire the 100 per cent of both Shoe Palace shares, plus members’ interests in youth-focused subsidiary Nice Kicks. Around $100m of the cash consideration, which [...]
Before the Bell: Deadlines come, and deadlines go December 14, 2020 Uncertainty over the prospect of a stimulus deal or economic aid package saw US markets finish last week on the back foot, as US politicians once again put party politics ahead of the people they are supposed to represent. “With a deadline fast approaching by year end US lawmakers are once again split down the [...]
Beyond Brexit, the EU is circling the drain December 14, 2020 The astronomer and prolific author Carl Sagan put it perfectly about the merits of analytical logic — what I often refer to as my superpower — when he said: “For me, it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is, rather than to persist in delusions, however satisfying and reassuring.” I am [...]
The week ahead, 14-18 December: Shaftesbury, SSP, Petrofac, and interest rates December 13, 2020 All eyes will be fixed firmly on Brussels this week, as businesses across the country hold their breath to see if the UK can finally reach a deal with the EU. With markets on edge as they await the outcome of the talks, there’s little to distract traders, with only a handful of firms reporting [...]
Goin’ underground: Tube journeys jump a third as lockdown ends December 3, 2020 The number of Tube journeys jumped a third yesterday compared to last week as the national lockdown restrictions were finally lifted. According to data from Transport for London (TfL), there were 2.64m taps in-and-out of Tube stations yesterday, 33 per cent higher than on the same day last week. That’s roughly a third of the [...]