British Business Bank’s oversight of Greensill was ‘woefully inadequate’ with £335m of taxpayers’ money at risk November 20, 2021 A new report has warned that up to £335m of taxpayers’ money is at risk due to failures by the British Business Bank to properly scrutinise bust lender Greensill Capital. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs found that the bank, which oversaw the billions lent to businesses during the pandemic in loans backed by the [...]
EU: ‘change in tone’ from UK but post-Brexit trade deal is ‘linked’ to solving Northern Ireland Protocol November 19, 2021 European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic has said the post-Brexit trade deal is “intrinsically linked” to settling the Protocol. Sefcovic was speaking at the Brexit Institute at Dublin City University, immediately before negotiations with Lord David Frost. Sefcovic said: “Settling the divorce has always been and remains a precondition for our future relationship. “It was [...]
Founder of tech firm where David Cameron chaired advisory board steps down after sexual assault claims November 19, 2021 The founder of a tech group at which former prime minister David Cameron was an adviser has stepped down amid allegations of sexual harassment. Zia Chishti, who founded Afiniti, was accused this week of pressuring a former employee into having sex with him on a business trip, when it was also alleged he beat her. [...]
Checking out: Ryanair confirms plans to delist from London Stock Exchange November 19, 2021 Ryanair is leaving the London Stock Exchange amid rising admission costs in a move that could be seen as a post-Brexit snub.
MP register update shows Boris Johnson used Heathrow lounge and Geoffrey Cox pocketed another £54k November 19, 2021 The latest update to the register of MPs’ interests shows that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was given use of the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport for three people on October 7, before he flew to Marbella on holiday. The Windsor Suite is a VIP lounge at Heathrow and has been used by royals including the [...]
Dyson opens virtual reality store that mirrors physical demos experiences November 19, 2021 Dyson has opened a virtual reality store to allow customers to try out its products before choosing to buy them. The new Dyson Demo VR experience, accessible via virtual reality headsets, sees users able to examine and test virtual versions of the firm’s hair Corrale straighteners, Supersonic hairdryer or Airwrap styler on strands of virtual [...]
Consumer confidence edges up despite inflation and supply chain woes November 19, 2021 Shoppers put aside concerns about soaring inflation and supply chain woes and spend in the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas, leading consumer confidence to edge up, according to new data published this morning. GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased three points to minus 14 in November following a three-month downturn. A seven-point jump in [...]
Exclusive: Deloitte reveals the UK’s fastest growing tech companies November 19, 2021 London firms came out on top in Deloitte’s annual ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest growing technology companies. The country’s top 50 tech firms achieved an average growth of 3,337 per cent and saw combined revenues of £2.92bn this year, up 33 per cent compared to last year’s total of £2.2bn. The final score sheet [...]
Bitcoin cashback announcement ends in controversy for UK fintech Mode November 18, 2021 Major retailers Boots and Ocado have distanced themselves from an announcement claiming they would offer customers cash back in Bitcoin. Today London-listed fintech Mode announced it would be adding more than 40 UK retailers including Boots, Ocado and Homebase to its crypto cashback rewards scheme. However, in comments to City A.M. both Boots and Ocado [...]
Alibaba shares slide five per cent as earnings fall short of forecasts November 18, 2021 Alibaba shares tumbled five per cent after the company’s third quarter financials disappointed investors. In results released today, Chinese tech giant Alibaba revealed that revenue for the three months to October 2021 was $31.1bn (£23bn), up by 29 per cent compared to a year prior, but a far cry from analyst predictions of $32.1bn Net [...]