Data on firms that took UK Covid loans to remain secret, tribunal rules Covid Information on thousands of small businesses that received taxpayer-backed loans during Covid-19 will remain confidential, a tribunal has ruled. The decision to keep the names of companies that took support during Covid a secret comes after a tribunal blocked an anti-corruption campaign group’s bid to obtain the data through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. [...]
Djokovic likely to miss duo of US tennis competitions over Covid-19 rules ouch Former world No1 tennis star Novak Djokovic is set to miss the Miami Open and Indian Wells in the United States this year due to changes in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination requirements. The United States have extended its requirement for visitors to prove they’re vaccinated against Covid-19 until 10 April and the Serbian has previously [...]
Covid-hit China: What is Britain and the rest of the world doing on travel restrictions? HERE WE GO AGAIN Covid-19 cases have shot through the roof in China – but Beijing premier Xi Jingping is still dead set on removing the zero-Covid policy, including removing restrictions on travel. Countries across the world are being forced to once again grapple with what restrictions to put in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and any [...]
UK house prices level out as Covid boom subsides October 7, 2022 UK house prices have dropped for the second time over the past three months in a sign the surge experienced over the previous year is starting to level out. Average UK house prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in September from August’s record highs of £293,992. The September drop marks the second marginal decrease over [...]
Peloton sends staff back to the office in far-reaching turnaround plan August 13, 2022 Exercise bike maker Peloton has set out plans to hike its prices, cut costs, and force its staff back into the office, as it seeks to turnaround after demand for its home gym equipment dipped following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. In an internal memo published by Bloomberg, the New York headquartered running machine seller [...]
Claims globalisation has ‘had its heyday’ are premature, Lloyd’s chief executive says August 2, 2022 Claims the dual shocks of Covid and the war in Ukraine have halted the “all conquering forces of globalisation” are “premature,” Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal told City A.M. In an op-ed in this newspaper, the insurance chief said that while we will “rightly see a degree of retreat and retrenchment” in [...]
UK’s Insolvency Service uses new powers to crack down on Covid loan fraud July 25, 2022 The UK’s Insolvency Service has begun using new powers, given to it last December, to crack down on company directors that dissolve their firms to avoid making repayments on government backed loans. The Insolvency Service used its “tough new powers” to ban three individuals from acting as company directors, for dissolving their companies to avoid [...]
Jubilee weekend boom fails to lift June’s retail sector July 22, 2022 An uptick in sales of food during the Jubilee weekend was offset by slower sales across the rest of the retail sector to see June retail volumes drop 0.1 per cent compared to previous month. The Jubilee weekend saw food shops sell 3.1 per cent more food last month than they did in May, as [...]
Photo-Me posts ‘extremely strong’ results as Covid restrictions ease July 19, 2022 Photobooth operators Photo-Me today vowed to pay its shareholders almost £25m in the form of a special dividend after posting “extremely strong” results for the first half of 2022. The Epsom headquartered firm, that sells a range of photobooths and vending machines, said its balance sheet was bolstered by the reopening of the global economy, [...]
Covid loan fraudsters should turn themselves in to avoid harsher penalties, lawyers say July 4, 2022 Individuals who defrauded the government’s Covid support schemes should consider turning themselves in to avoid even harsher penalties, amid a far-reaching crackdown on those responsible for making fraudulent claims, lawyers have said. The comments come after figures from the UK’s Insolvency Service showed the executive agency has struck off a total of 179 company directors, [...]