End of Euro 2020 dampens retail sales in July August 20, 2021 UK retail sales fell sharply over the last month driven by the end of the Euro 2020 football tournament in July stemming Brits’ spending on food and drink, according to official figures released today. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows retail sales volumes dropped 2.5 per cent between June and July of this [...]
Phone call Raab delegated to junior minister in Afghan crisis was not made August 20, 2021 A key phone call to Afghanistan’s foreign minister was delegated by Dominic Raab to a junior minister and subsequently not made. The Foreign Secretary is facing calls to quit over his handling of the crisis in Afghanistan after he was seen relaxing on a beach in Crete as the Taliban marched on Kabul. On Friday, [...]
Commuting again after pandemic? Never again, say one in ten Londoners August 20, 2021 Many office workers in London are to set to embark on their return to the workplace after the summer. However, many commuters are not too keen to board a train or catch the tube again, mainly due to increased concern over infection control and social distancing on the daily commute. According to a survey conducted [...]
The British Virgin Islands and the UK: A modern partnership is one of equals August 20, 2021 With a thriving financial services sector and a safe and reliable place to do business, the British Virgin Islands is important not only as one of the UK’s Overseas Territories but as a partner to the City of London. Under the BVI constitution, responsibilities are shared between the elected Government, led by me as premier, [...]
Britain 2030: Writing off the high street is unambitious; its future is bespoke, local and community-driven August 20, 2021 After years of decline, the Covid-19 pandemic further hammered the high street, leading to boarded up shops and mass job losses, and some to declare the high street “dead”. But writing off the high street could prove to be unambitious, as, with the help of local government and private stakeholders, the post-pandemic high street could [...]
Legal groups urge UK to help female judges and legal professionals in Afghanistan August 19, 2021 At least 250 female judges in Afghanistan face a “perilous” future, legal groups have said while urging the UK government to offer asylum to female judges and other legal professionals in the country which has been control of by the Taliban. According to the Lawyer Monthly, the Bar Council, Bar Human Rights Committee and Law [...]
Facebook’s Diem finally ready to launch, though markets are unmoved August 19, 2021 The big gainers today are Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL), both of which are up more than five per cent and continue their recent winning streak.
British sales rep a LinkedIn sensation after leaving £100k job to become postman August 18, 2021 A Briton who went viral on LinkedIn after swapping a high-paying career to become a postman has said “Covid has made people value the simple things in life”. Phil Goddard, 56, from Orwell in Cambridgeshire, left behind decades in sales and account management after going through furlough and redundancy in 2020. In September last year [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? August 18, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. London First completes leadership shuffle Business lobby organisation London First has strengthened its leadership team this week as it channels its focus on the capital’s return to growth, emerging from the pandemic. Former director of corporate [...]
SoftBank ramps up exits to fund prolific Vision Fund dealmaking August 18, 2021 The Japanese investment giant sold around $14bn worth of listed stocks last quarter, marking a change in its exit-hesitant strategy in order to fund its Vision Fund’s accelerating investments in tech startups. SoftBank sold an estimated $14bn worth of listed stocks in the last quarter – almost triple that of the previous period, according to [...]