Is central London finished? International investors think otherwise February 9, 2021 It is a strange experience going into central London right now. Areas that are normally bustling with crowds or chaotic with commuters lie still – even Pret A Manger has reduced its menu and opening times. Those who live outside of Zone 1 and for whom memories of maroon coffee cups, the underground and the [...]
Social media’s failings have made regulation almost inevitable February 8, 2021 The GameStop saga has thrown light, once again, on the power of social media. Having dramatically increased the stock price of a loss-making video game retailer, the two-million strong subreddit r/WallStreetBets has shown that with enough will, a single group can take on even the powerful world of hedge funds–and make itself some money in [...]
What are the UK-EU memorandum of understanding talks on financial services about? February 8, 2021 Last month the UK Treasury began talks with the EU to put in a place a memorandum of understanding for future financial services regulation on each side of the Channel. Much of the media discourse about these talks revolve around whether they will yield extended EU market access for the City of London, however any [...]
The Week Ahead: Look out for GDP data, Ocado, AstraZ, Twitter and Ted Baker February 8, 2021 Start your week informed: here are the announcements and results to look out for this week. UK GDP: A double dip recession is looming After a fairly decent third quarter, and an expansion of 16 per cent, the UK economy has had a much more troubled fourth quarter, with the likelihood that we may well [...]
How do you replace somebody like Jeff Bezos? February 6, 2021 There are very few CEOs who are household names, and fewer still whose actions, ethics and business acumen are discussed as widely as Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos and Amazon are almost interchangeable – he basically is the company which he has worked so hard to build. This week though, the founder and CEO of Amazon [...]
The show must go on: How UK film and TV ploughed through the pandemic February 6, 2021 From Tiger King to The Serpent, hit TV shows have become cultural currency in an era defined by lockdowns. With millions of Brits forced to stay at home, film and TV has been one of the few avenues for entertainment over the last year, providing a much-needed dose of escapism during the pandemic. But for [...]
Deloitte China whistleblower circulates damning presentation on social media that alleges audit failures of RYB Education February 5, 2021 Big Four firm Deloitte is under pressure after one of its employees reportedly made a 55-page PowerPoint presentation that exposed the firm’s alleged accounting violations in China. The PowerPoint, which has been circulating on Weibo, a Chinese website similar to Twitter, has alleged that when Deloitte was auditing the financial data of its client RYB [...]
Screenshot: How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine February 5, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought **How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine **Will BT look to the stars? Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought Anyone who thinks local politics is boring has clearly never attended a meeting of the Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee. Or [...]
UK government will ‘help facilitate’ vaccine passports, says minister February 5, 2021 The UK government will “help facilitate” vaccine passports with other countries as part of plans for Europe to return to normality, the Foreign Office minister has said. The Times reported this morning that British officials have started working on an official certification system after Greece said it would waive quarantine rules for tourists able to [...]
GameStop and the ethics of short sellers February 5, 2021 The global media has recently been entranced by a battle between retail traders and hedge funds over the US computer game store, GameStop. It has also shone a light on a practice that makes many people feel uneasy: “short selling”. So much so that lots of members of the Reddit community which spearheaded the attack [...]