US second quarter economic growth revision undershoots expectations August 26, 2021 The US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter of this year as Americans reined in spending despite Covid restrictions easing in many states over the period, according to official figures published today. The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised the US economy second quarter annualised growth rate up to 6.6 [...]
Pubs to serve 6m fewer pints this bank holiday than pre-Covid, industry body warns August 26, 2021 Industry body The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said today its members expect to lose out on £25m in revenue from pint sales this bank holiday, down 10 per cent on revenue for the same bank holiday in 2019 before Covid arrived. Pubs will serve an estimated six million fewer pints on Monday than [...]
West watches on as Bank of Korea raises interest rates August 26, 2021 The Bank of Korea is raising interest rates in a shift away from pandemic era monetary policy as the country faces spiralling public debt. The interest rate climbed 25 basis points from a rate of 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent following a 10 per cent increase in household debt and a 14.3 per [...]
Car production tumbles afresh amid supply and labour shortages August 26, 2021 Car production tumbled in the UK for the first time since February as the combination of global chip shortages, workers being forced to isolate, and summer shutdowns jammed up factory lines. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 53,438 cars were made in July, down 37.6 per cent on the year [...]
Uber UK boss to meet GMB leader after driver representation deal August 26, 2021 Uber’s UK boss is due to meet with the new leader of the GMB union in a bid to settle their differences about the ride-hailing app’s working practices. Jamie Heywood, Uber’s UK regional manager, will meet with Gary Smith, months after the firm took the decision to recognise the union, the BBC said. Under that [...]
Big Tech vows to ramp up cybersecurity after White House summit August 26, 2021 Major US tech firms have pledged to ramp up their cybersecurity defences following a White House summit yesterday. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM were among the companies to make multi-billion-dollar commitments as President Joe Biden called on top chief executives to “raise the bar on cybersecurity”. During a meeting alongside his members of his Cabinet, [...]
Staff shortages leave consumer facing businesses pessimistic about recovery August 26, 2021 Consumer facing businesses, such as bars and restaurants, have a pessimistic outlook about their economic recovery, according to a CBI survey. In the three months to August, optimism about the general business situation fell from +47 per cent in the previous quarter to -17 per cent despite an uptick in sales volume. The biggest concerns [...]
Crime watch: loan fraud hits three year high August 25, 2021 Criminal financial activity is on the rise with loan fraud rates at their highest level in more than three years according to new data. According to Experian, which analysed data from the National Hunter Fraud Prevention Service, fraud rates are experiencing an “alarming surge.” Loan fraud, the practice of falsifying information on application forms, has [...]
As DeFi gathers momentum, how will regulators protect investors? – CityAM : CityAM August 25, 2021 Decentralised (DeFi) Exchanges continue to gain a growing number of users as the level of trading and wide selection of assets and services they offer expands. The total value of assets in DeFi is now over $84billion compared to only $1.8 billion in June 2021. So, what is driving this expansion of DeFi? DeFi enables owners [...]
Home working could help older employees retire later August 25, 2021 New ONS data shows that home working could help to boost the economy by upping the age at which older workers retire. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the UK economy is missing out on an estimated £88bn because of a sharp drop off in employment rates as workers approach pension age. In [...]