Self-isolation nation: Recovery sluggish as GDP climbs 0.1 per cent in July September 10, 2021 The UK economy grew just 0.1 per cent in July as the post-Covid recovery continued to slow. New official figures released this morning showed a significant fall from June’s one per cent growth, with the economy still 2.1 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak in February 2020. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak remained positive [...]
More than a third of the UK has had first dose of Covid-19 vaccine March 8, 2021 More than one third of the UK population has received their first dose of a Covid vaccine. The Department of Health announced more than 22m people have got their first jab. The succesful rollout of the vaccine means that people aged 50 to 59 will start receiving their first dose of the vaccine today, which [...]
FCA insists it protects consumers from investment harm despite criticism January 18, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened 1,500 supervisory cases involving scams or high risk investments in the first 10 months of 2020, in an effort to clamp down on consumer investment harm. The city regulator also stopped applications for authorisation from 343 financial services firms and individuals where the potential for consumer harm was identified [...]
Daily Mail owner acquires New Scientist magazine for £70m March 3, 2021 The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) has announced that its consumer media business has acquired New Scientist for £70m. A consortium of individual investors led by Sir Bernard Gray are set to sell the world’s leading science magazine. Lord Rothermere, charmain of DMGT, said: “New Scientist is a world-renowned publication loved by its readers, [...]
Oil prices plummet on surging Covid cases August 3, 2021 Oil prices plummeted on Tuesday as the resurgence in Covid cases globally driven by the Delta variant fuelled concerns that restrictions on economic activity may be reimposed. Global benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude slid 1.39 per cent and 1.12 per cent to hit $70.41 and $72.22 respectively – WTI briefly dipped below $70. Prices have [...]
Window shoppers flock back to Central London as footfall jumps on lockdown fatigue February 8, 2021 Window shoppers flock back to Central London as footfall jumps on lockdown fatigue
Moneysupermarket profit drops as demand for travel insurance and credit products falls February 18, 2021 Moneysupermarket, the financial services price-comparison platform, suffered a fall in profit and revenue last year as lockdown restrictions caused a drop in demand for insurance and credit products. Moneysupermarket, which also owns the advice website Moneysavingexpert, said profit after tax fell 27 per cent from £94.9m in 2019 to £69.3m last year. Group revenue was [...]
France placed under new ‘amber plus’ quarantine rules in last minute government U-turn July 17, 2021 Double-vaccinated travellers from France to the UK will still have to quarantine on return from Monday, after a last minute U-turn announced by the government late on Friday night. As the majority of England’s coronavirus restrictions are dropped on 19 July, fully vaccinated adults arriving to the UK from “amber list” countries will not be [...]
Barratt expects higher profits as home completions increase July 14, 2021 Barratt expects profits to be at the “top end” of market expectations, it announced this morning, amid a boom in home completions. The housebuilder delivered 17,243 homes in the year ended 30 June 2021 – 5,000 more than the year before, according to the company’s trading update. Despite the pandemic Barratt built more homes than [...]
FCA outlines plans to spot fraud and ‘poor behaviour’ faster after LCF debacle July 15, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said this morning it plans to invest £120m in improving its data capabilities over the next three years to crack down on fraud and misconduct. The UK’s financial watchdog outlined plans to overhaul its practices and vowed to be faster at spotting fraud and poor behaviour by banks. These include [...]