Von der Leyen: ‘Mistakes were made’ ahead of EU/UK vaccine debacle February 10, 2021 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has admitted “mistakes were made” ahead of the EU’s brief and disastrous decision to block vaccines travelling to the UK. Speaking this morning, Von der Leyen said the EU Commission would do its “utmost to protect the peace in Northern Ireland.” The EU Commission president admitted the bloc [...]
Blueprint for London’s COVID recovery from “cultural catastrophe” set out by City Taskforce February 9, 2021 Close collaboration across the cultural, civic and commercial sectors will be essential in tackling the “cultural catastrophe” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a report published by the Culture and Commerce Taskforce reveals today. Chaired by Lord Mayor William Russell, the City of London Corporation – in partnership with its creative district, Culture Mile – formed [...]
Financial markets continue to hang on two Vs: vaccine and virus February 9, 2021 Global equities bounced strongly last week, gaining nearly 5 per cent and more than reversing their losses from the previous week. Stock markets ended the week at new highs and opened again higher yesterday. The market correction ended up lasting no more than a week. “So too did the surge in GameStock which has fallen back [...]
Before the Bell: Bitcoin goes through the roof as positive investor sentiment persists February 9, 2021 Bitcoin was driven to fresh record highs overnight – it traded above $47,000 – on the news that Tesla bought $1.5bn worth of the cryptocurrency. In the same announcement, the electric vehicle manufacturer revealed that it intends to accept the digital currency as a method of payment too. “One of the criticisms of Bitcoin is [...]
Ether futures set for Chicago Mercantile Exchange launch today February 8, 2021 Crypto at a Glance Happy Monday! And what a happy Monday it is. Bitcoin is back paddling in the warm waters around the $40k level and just closed the week at its highest price in history, Ether’s (ETH) bull run continues apace with prices soaring past $1,700 to new all-time highs, and Cardano (ADA) just [...]
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 [...]
Here comes Govtech: It’s time to digitise government and the public sector February 8, 2021 Boris Johnson’s first telephone call with Joe Biden in the White House reportedly included some joshing over which of them had first used the phrase ‘Build Back Better’. Whether it was the Prime Minister or the President, it is set to be the leitmotif of the global post-Covid recovery. Economies have been devastated, individuals have [...]
UK exports via sea to EU down 68 per cent since end of Brexit transition February 7, 2021 UK exports through sea freight to the EU in January plummeted by 68 per cent compared to last year, according to new data from the UK’s lorry lobby. Figures from the Road Haulage Association (RHA), which have been shown to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, also revealed that up to 75 per cent of lorries [...]
British Gas workers to hold 12 further strikes over ‘fire and rehire’ plans February 5, 2021 British Gas workers are set to hold 12 further strikes in the coming weeks amid ongoing pay disputes at the firm, the GMB union has announced. The fresh industrial action will be in three lots of four-day strikes, each beginning at midnight on 12 February, 19 February and 26 February, GMB said in a statement. Around 7,000 union members [...]
Negative interest rates remain a distant and unlikely prospect February 5, 2021 The BoE effectively gave the financial sector six months to prepare for thepossible use of negative rates, but that should be long enough for the UKeconomy to move into vaccine-fuelled recovery and remove the need forsuch an emergency move, which would also risk unintendedconsequences, according to Ian Williams, economics & strategy research analyst at Peel [...]