Athletes are driving the acceleration of sports investment – will we see European players follow the US trend for SPACs and NFTs? April 8, 2021 Barely a day goes by without another high-profile athlete being announced as an investor in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a tech start-up or launching their own non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While the Covid-19 pandemic has created major cash-flow problems for many elite teams and leagues, there is certainly no shortage of liquidity being channelled [...]
Northern Ireland: Ministers condemn ‘deplorable’ violence in Belfast April 8, 2021 Northern Ireland’s devolved government has condemned the “deplorable” acts of violence and rioting from militant unionists over the past six nights in Belfast and beyond. Ministers said in a statement that they are “gravely concerned by the scenes we have all witnessed on our streets, including those at the Lanark Way interface [in Belfast] last [...]
Venture capital trusts fundraised £685m last year in bid to support small businesses April 8, 2021 Venture capital trusts (VCTs) managed to bolster fundraising by 11 per cent last year, raising £685m in funds for small businesses. The fundraising, only six per cent below pre-pandemic levels, is set to give some companies some breathing room after a fiscally tough year. “It’s really positive that during the pandemic 11 per cent more [...]
UK’s vaccine programme ‘breaking link’ between Covid infections and death April 8, 2021 The UK’s vaccination programme is beginning to break the link between Covid-19 infections and deaths, scientists studying the epidemic have said. The latest REACT study by Imperial College London of more than 140,000 people in England shoed infections have fallen roughly two-thirds since February. Data showed that around 0.2 per cent of England’s population had [...]
It’s a myth to say sustainable and ethical clothing can’t be affordable April 8, 2021 Forced labour. Environmental hazard. A race to the bottom. It is no secret that the fashion industry is broken. Clothes are the second highest products at risk of slavery and produce around 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – that’s more than planes. With labour supply across the global supply chain exceeding demand, fashion [...]
The Accelerating Competition in the Bionic Hand Industry April 7, 2021 The Emergence of Lower-Cost Devices If you wanted to purchase a multi-articulating bionic hand in 2015, you would have had only a few mainstream options, all costing between $35,000 and $70,000 US for a complete solution. Roll forward six years and at BionicsForEveryone.com we now list 14 bionic hands from 13 companies on our website, with another [...]
UK regulator recommends alternative to Astrazeneca vaccine for under-30s April 7, 2021 Under-30s in the UK will be offered an alternative to the Astrazeneca Covid vaccine following mounting evidence leading it to rare blood clots, Britain’s medicines regulator has ruled. A review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found that by the end of March, 79 people in the UK had suffered rare blood [...]
Why Champagne is music for your mouth April 7, 2021 Sometimes you just want a bit of whatever Lady Gaga is having. And now you can, by pairing her green crème Chromatica Oreos with Dom Perignon champagne. The iconic Champagne house has teamed up with the pop superstar in “an artistic venture” which sees the launch of her limited edition champagne bottle, a Gaga sculpture [...]
UK begins rollout of Moderna’s Covid vaccine April 7, 2021 The Moderna vaccine has become the third Covid jab to join the UK’s jab portfolio, with the first doses being given to carers in Wales today. The vaccine received emergency approval from the UK’s medicines regulator in January, when it was deemed safe and effective. Supplies arrived in Wales this morning, with 5,000 doses sent [...]
UNICEF handed million dollar donation with Bitcoin from Huobi April 7, 2021 Global blockchain company Huobi has donated seven Bitcoins and fiat worth a million dollars to UNICEF to help create blockchain innovations.