Asos sounds cautious note on future demand after profit quadruples October 14, 2020 Asos reported a quadrupling in full-year profit following a spike in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, but warned on the outlook for consumer spending among its young customer base. The fashion ecommerce giant reported profit before tax of £142.1m for the year to 31 August, up from £33.1m the year before. Read more: Asos [...]
Boris Johnson delaying choice on Covid lockdown as rapid testing nears October 18, 2020 Boris Johnson is reportedly delaying any decision on a national lockdown in the hope that new rapid turnaround Covid tests can be deployed before the end of the year. Johnson said last week that 1m “swab in the gob” tests, that give a result in 15 minutes, could be used every day by the end [...]
Sign Brexit deal to ‘give us our future’, pleads car industry November 24, 2020 The car industry has pleaded with the government to sign a post-Brexit free trade agreement by Christmas, saying that the failure to do so could cost the sector £55bn by 2025. Speaking at a Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) summit, chief executive Mike Hawes said that a new partnership with the EU “could [...]
Lost the plot: City A.M’s pick of the best books of 2020 December 18, 2020 Whether it was a period of furlough, a cancelled trip or endless weekends with no pubs, restaurants, museums or cinemas open: there has definitely been more time for most of us to get stuck into a good book this year. As we turn the last page of 2020, whether you’re looking for a page-turner during [...]
Covid restrictions: PM gives London’s ‘wet pubs’ who cannot open £1000 each December 1, 2020 All London pubs that cannot open tomorrow when Covid restrictions are eased will be given £1,000. London’s pubs can only open tomorrow if they are able to offer “substantial meals” to punters, meaning that scores of venues will stay closed in the lead up to Christmas. Boris Johnson made the announcement at the start of [...]
When Zoom goes wrong: Is this the worst video meeting of all time? February 5, 2021 The Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee is, one assumes, a sleepy affair. But that does not seem to have been the case before Christmas — with a heady mix of Zoom confusion, playground squabbling and extremely English insults. A video of the meeting — of which the written minutes simply do not do [...]
Asian stocks mixed as investors weigh ‘virus vs. vaccine’ November 19, 2020 Asian stocks were mixed as investors weighed up rising coronavirus cases and new measures to curb them with hopes that a vaccine could soon be ready. Equities fell in Japan by 0.5 per cent after Tokyo warned about a record rise in daily coronavirus cases. The warning prompted fears that further restrictions could soon be [...]
When will our lives begin? What I learned from 2020 — and from Disney’s Tangled December 31, 2020 Like so many people tasked with entertaining children over Christmas, I have spent the last week watching an inordinate amount of Disney. That is to be expected. What I did not expect was finding the ultimate lockdown song. I am talking of the opening number from Tangled, the 2010 version of Rapunzel, entitled “When will [...]
Germany to enter four-week lockdown from November October 28, 2020 Germany will enter a four-week lockdown from 2 November, Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed today. Pubs, bars and restaurants across the country will shut for one month, while all inter-household mixing will be banned. Gyms, cinemas and theatres will also shutter for four weeks, as Merkel scrambles to contain a second wave sweeping across the nation. [...]
Astrazeneca boosts revenue but misses first vaccine delivery target November 5, 2020 Pharma giant Astrazeneca has seen its sales and revenue rise for the year to date despite the ongoing disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE blue-chip said that revenue increased eight per cent to £19.2bn in the first nine months of the year, while sales rose nine per cent. The company, which is working with [...]