Coronavirus: Young’s offers rent holiday to tenants March 19, 2020 London pub chain Young’s this morning announced a three month rent holiday for its tenants to help them cope with the impact on trading from coronavirus. Young’s said it is expecting to close all of its sites at some point, although the government has so far only advised the public to avoid pubs. The company’s [...]
Boom or bust: The risk of a repeat of the dot-com bubble March 19, 2020 On 10 March 2000, the US Nasdaq stock market peaked at 5,048.62. By October 2002, the index had lost 78 per cent of its value, or about $5 trillion. The Nasdaq had swelled due to the proliferation of internet-related companies aiming to make money from this nascent technology. In fact, between 1995 and 2000, the [...]
The worst of times may just bring out the best in us March 19, 2020 From the Queen of Denmark to the mayor of Parsipanny, New Jersey, leaders around the world are reaching for a phrase that speaks to the challenge we face: we must come together by staying apart. Ireland’s Leo Varadkar deployed the same line in an excellent speech to his nation on Tuesday night. It captures perfectly [...]
Jude Bellingham transfer: The rules Manchester United and their competitors will have to negotiate to sign Birmingham’s star midfielder March 18, 2020 Like everything in sport right now, Jude Bellingham’s future is on hold. But the coronavirus pandemic has only delayed what now feels inevitable: that Birmingham City’s most prized asset will be flying the coop. Bellingham is just 16 and only made his professional debut in August, but his performances for Birmingham have set the scouting [...]
Tencent posts rise in profit as pandemic drives surge in Wechat use March 18, 2020 Tencent today said the coronavirus outbreak had driven a huge surge in usage for its social media platform Wechat. The Chinese tech giant said Wechat had racked up 8bn visits since February as people logged in to access so-called health codes that allow them to travel during the outbreak. It came as Tencent posted fourth [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Wong can Thunder his way to another comeback victory March 17, 2020 UNDOUBTEDLY one of the feel-good stories in Hong Kong over the past month has been the return to the jockey ranks of young claimer Victor Wong. Wong suffered a freak track-work accident in May of last year and it was touch-and-go whether he would return to normal life, never mind riding racehorses again. It took [...]
Baraza Resort review: This elegant hotel in Zanzibar is a feast for the senses March 16, 2020 Visiting tropical islands usually involves sacrificing the richness and depth of continental culture for the simplicity of ravishing sun, sea and sand. Zanzibar, however, is almost unique in letting you combine the three ‘S’ with classic architecture and history – all in a space of less than 2,500 sq km. This island off the coast [...]
Andy Warhol at Tate Modern review: A rare glimpse into the human side of this larger-than-life icon March 16, 2020 Prior to visiting the Tate Modern this week, I was fairly sure I was over Andy Warhol. His legacy is undeniable; the contemporary art scene, particularly the one that children of the 1980s came of age to, would be unrecognisable without him. His body of work – more varied than he’s given credit for – [...]
UK distillery numbers jump as craft gin popularity booms March 16, 2020 The number of distilleries in the UK has surged as craft gin continues to grow in popularity, according to the latest research. Distilleries jumped 20 per cent to 246 over the last year, up from 205 the previous year, as the UK gin industry toasted a nine per cent increase in export sales to £672m [...]
Titian at the National Gallery review — Full-bodied masterpieces March 15, 2020 There are just seven paintings in National Gallery’s new exhibition Titian: Love, Desire and Death, but they pack a punch. This is the first time these great works have been exhibited in the same room in their 450-year history. Poesie, Titian calls them — “poetic pictures” inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Commissioned by a 21-year-old Prince [...]