Business lunch bookings are booming and the City is leading the charge August 27, 2021 Working lunches have bounced back after more office workers returned to the City following Freedom Day, according to new data. Reservation platform TheFork UK has revealed a 26 per cent jump in lunchtime bookings following ‘Freedom Day’, or 19 July, when the government dropped its work from home message and the final lockdown rules and [...]
Norway poised for historic first female as its central bank chief August 27, 2021 Norway may appoint a female as its central bank chief for the first time ever, after governor Oystein Olsen announced on Thursday that he will step down in February 2022. Deputy governor Ida Wolden Bache is in a prime position to succeed Olsen in running monetary policy in the wealthiest Nordic economy, Nordea bank economist [...]
Zoom announces hybrid return to work August 26, 2021 Videoconferencing giant Zoom has announced its plans for a hybrid approach to work for its staff, in a company blog post. The company, which became a household name during the pandemic, conducted an internal survey which found that only 1 per cent of its employees wanted to return to working full-time from the office. The [...]
Supply chain crisis: Quarter of all food and hospitality firms hit by low stock levels August 26, 2021 More than a quarter of food and hospitality firms have been hit by low stock levels in recent weeks as Britain’s mounting supply chain crisis takes it toll, according to new figures published this morning. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said its recent business survey found that 27 per cent of food and accommodation [...]
John Edwards: The ‘Facebook-hating’ Kiwi poised to shake up UK data laws August 26, 2021 The government today confirmed plans to appoint John Edwards, currently New Zealand’s privacy commissioner, as the next head of the UK’s data watchdog. The appointment is part of a planned overhaul of the UK’s data laws that will herald a new era of post-Brexit policy as ministers look to use online information to fuel economic [...]
British citizenship applications by EU nationals up by 83 per cent after Brexit August 26, 2021 Applications for British citizenship by EU nationals rose by 83 per cent compared with the previous year, to 74,384, according to new Home Office figures published this morning. This is the highest number of applications from EU nationals in a 12-month period since comparable records began in 2004. EU nationals accounted for more than a [...]
UK to scrap web cookie requests in post-Brexit data revamp August 26, 2021 The UK will scrap “pointless” web cookie requests as part of a major package of reforms that will replace the EU’s data laws with a new post-Brexit regime. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden today unveiled a string of new measures designed to harness the power of data to drive growth and create jobs. The move will [...]
Property: Market now faces acute supply shortage after buying frenzy August 26, 2021 Housing stock levels are down 26.4 per cent compared to the 2020 average, as buyer demand has eroded existed supply. While buyer demand remains strong, up 20.5 per cent, stock supply will remain low into next year, according to the property platform Zoopla’s monthly House Price Index. The property market is experiencing its greatest stock [...]
The UK’s plans for Afghan refugees will be a test of the nation’s moral character August 26, 2021 The UK has promised to welcome 20,000 Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban. The proposal looks set to mirror a scheme introduced at the height of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, under which more than 20,000 vulnerable refugees have been resettled by the start of 2021. In its first year, the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will [...]
Bitcoin stalls at $50k as Cardano continues march August 24, 2021 After a big weekend, Bitcoin yesterday hit a wall at the psychologically-important $50k resistance level.