Restarting and building a resilient recovery June 2, 2020 COVID-19 continues to create a unique set of challenges for business and society. I think it’s important, as we wrestle with those challenges, that we continue to acknowledge that we’re all experiencing this crisis in different ways and on different timelines. The way EY has been advising businesses to manage and respond to COVID-19 is [...]
Why I’m seeking a Judicial Review of the government’s draconian lockdown measures June 2, 2020 Last month, Boris Johnson addressed the nation and told us to “stay alert”. But with the passing of each day of this totalitarian lockdown, it is clear that it is the government that is leading us like lemmings into disaster, taking us towards the cliff edge with them. My application to the High Court for [...]
Card Factory scraps dividend as higher costs hit profit June 2, 2020 Card Factory today scrapped its full-year dividend as higher costs and the ongoing impact of Covid-19 weighed on profit. The figures Card Factory reported revenue of £451.5m for the year to the end of January, up 3.6 per cent year on year. Like-for-like sale dipped 0.5 per cent over the year. Underlying profit before tax [...]
The UK’s long road to Covid-19 recovery May 27, 2020 As the discussion on how the UK navigates its post-lockdown journey continues, it is becoming increasingly clear that the road ahead remains fraught with uncertainty. There is a huge series of steps the government and organisations of all sizes must negotiate before reaching even a sense of life before Covid-19. Assessing the modelling of roadmaps [...]
When will Bitcoin be taken seriously by the masses? May 26, 2020 There are three types of people in the world today: People who have heard of Bitcoin, people who haven’t and the last group who acknowledges it’s existence, but refuse to accept it’s potential. Bitcoin’s rocky past and uncertain future has yet to win over the majority audience on the world’s financial and global stage. When [...]
CBILs failings are leading us to catastrophe May 26, 2020 Ranald Macdonald is a restaurateur and Managing Director of Boisdale Group The UK is sleepwalking into a financial disaster of biblical proportions that will exacerbate the economic effects of Covid many times over. Other leading nations, like Germany, the US and France, will avoid this calamity as they have been far more successful in ensuring [...]
Covid-19: the inescapable truths faced by investors May 22, 2020 Investors will need to be more agile than ever as Covid-19 reinforces many of the trends driving the world economy prior to the outbreak. “At the beginning of the plague, when there was now no more hope but that the whole city would be visited; when all that had friends or estates in the country [...]
Understanding what’s driving market reactions is vital May 20, 2020 Our lack of understanding of the coronavirus has added to the challenges confronting politicians and policy makers in recent months, and this in turn has fed the uncertainty impacting financial markets. There are six broad areas influencing markets: the virus itself; the economic picture; the corporate outlook; policy; second-round effects; and lessons from the past. [...]
Coronavirus crisis set to wipe $17bn off sports sponsorship market May 18, 2020 Global sports sponsorship revenue will fall by $17.2bn (£14.1bn) this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, new forecasts have revealed. Total spend is expected to reach just $28.9bn in 2020 — a 37 per cent fall year on year — as scores of live sporting events have been scrapped and businesses look to [...]
UK economy receives fresh warnings before Rishi Sunak addresses MPs May 18, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to address MPs today following new dire predictions of the impact of coronavirus on the UK economy. Sunak is set to face questions over how the UK will pay for huge public borrowing currently propping up the economy. The Treasury boss extended his job retention scheme to October last week, [...]