Starmer’s brawl with the unions is a rite of passage for the Labour party August 4, 2022 All the Labour Party had to do was to cede the entire summer to Tory infighting. But when it comes to factionalist fights among themselves, Labour are the experts. Since being given a begrudging vote of confidence by Durham Police, clearing him from the most boring of allegations of rule-breaking, Sir Keir Starmer has found [...]
New prime minister must up R&D funding or risk ushering in ‘low skilled’ economy August 4, 2022 The next prime minister must up the UK’s spending on science research and development (R&D) or risk losing its standing as a global leader, Tory-backed think tank Onward has urged today. In a report, supported by several MPs including former science minister George Freeman, Onward said the lack of spending risks damaging the UK’s core [...]
Sunak and Truss’s room for tax cuts is ‘limited’, OECD warns August 3, 2022 Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s room to cut taxes is limited, a top global economic institution said today. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said an ageing society and the need to boost public sector investment to lift growth will keep government spending higher for decades, limiting “the scope for [...]
Robinhood lays off almost a quarter of staff as crypto crash continues August 3, 2022 Trading platform Robinhood cut about 23 per cent of its staff as the crypto crash persisted and economic outlook dampened. The company, which enables crypto trading, had previously laid off 9 per cent of its staff to manage costs. The layoffs follow other crypto companies cutting staff as the “crypto winter” causes prices of major [...]
Michael Saylor quits as MicroStrategy CEO after Bitcoin losses August 3, 2022 Crypto advocate Michael Saylor stepped down as CEO of MicroStrategy after the software company took a near $1bn (£0.8bn) loss in Bitcoin. Saylor, a prominent supporter and investor of Bitcoin, will now be Executive Chairman after MicroStrategy faced an impairment charge of over $917m (£757m) on its Bitcoin holding in the second quarter of 2022 [...]
Battle for Number 10: From tax to NHS, here are all the promises Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have made so far August 3, 2022 Yesterday, Liz Truss has this morning performed a screeching U-turn on a policy to pay regional public sector workers less than their London counterparts. it came after a severe backlash from Tory MPs and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen. The embarrassing move comes as Truss and her rival Rishi Sunak continue to flesh out their [...]
Starbucks posts record quarterly sales while Chinese stores feel Covid side effects August 3, 2022 Starbucks shares were elevated on Wednesday after the coffee chain posted record quarterly revenue. However, the US giant said its bottom line had been impacted by inflationary cost pressures and higher wages. It surpasses sales expectations, posting third quarter sales topping $8.2bn, ahead of analysts’ bets of $8.1bn. Roaring sales in the chain’s largest market [...]
Investors pour over £160m into UK lithium battery maker in EV boom August 3, 2022 Investors have poured $220m (£164m) into UK-based lithium battery maker Nexeon, as the electric vehicle boom boosts the value of the in-demand power source. The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s manufacturing capabilities, as it seeks to mass produces “tens of thousands of metric tonnes” of its products, which are critical in rechargeable [...]
UK pharma industry still suffering skills shortages despite progress August 3, 2022 The UK’s pharmaceutical industry is still suffering from skills shortages, despite recent progresses, the UK’s industry body warned today. “We’ve made progress in addressing some of the skills gaps that pharmaceutical companies have faced in recent years, with rapid improvements in areas such as biological and chemical science,” director of corporate affairs at the Association [...]
Endeavour raises half-year dividend to £82m as mining firm reports strong results August 3, 2022 Endeavour Mining has increased its half-year dividend by 43 per cent to $100m (£82m) as it reports strong results for the first half of 2022. The mining company hiked its minimum full-year 2022 dividend by 33 per cent to $200m (£164m), $50m (£41m) more than the initial commitment, as its operating cash flow rose by [...]