Pandemic fuels fresh business creation as entrepreneurs spy ‘unique’ opening August 2, 2021 The pandemic has been the core reason for some 26 per cent of new businesses opening this year, with most owners confident in turning a profit their first 12 months. The Covid-19 crisis has provided a ‘unique’ opportunity for entrepreneurs, according to new research from fintech firm Tide. With 65 per cent of fresh business [...]
Countryside creep: London homeowners flee capital at record rate August 2, 2021 London homeowners are fleeing the capital at record levels as city slickers pursue newfound housing needs triggered by the Covid crisis, according to new figures released today. Research by estate agent Hamptons shows 61,830 Londoners purchased homes outside the capital in the first six months of this year, the highest number since they started recording [...]
Sunday Read: Bank of England’s QE programme has muddied the water between right and wrong August 1, 2021 “The problem with QE is it works in practice but it doesn’t work in theory,” an often quoted joke said by former Fed chair Ben Bernanke. But, some are testing that hypothesis. The backdrop to Thursday’s Bank of England meeting is much more unforgiving than previous ones. A House of Lords committee recently accused the [...]
A cultural mea culpa: a fragile over-reliance on freelancers and insecurity in the creative arts cannot continue July 31, 2021 In March 2020, I was midway through lecturing at the Sorbonne on plagues and portents in ancient Rome, Meanwhile, it was becoming increasingly clear that something alarming was happening in our own world. The night before I left Paris, I took an evening trip through the Louvre. It was practically empty – no queues by [...]
Sports Direct owner Frasers Group set for ‘upbeat’ update after reopening stores July 30, 2021 An “upbeat” trading update is reportedly expected from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct, in the hope that the reopening of high street stores have pushed up sales The retail giant was more cautious in its outlook in April despite the reopening of retailers across the UK. It warned it could take a [...]
Rush to beat stamp duty cut off lifts Rightmove profits July 30, 2021 Profits at property search site Rightmove soared in the first half of the year amid surging demand in the UK housing market driven by the stamp holiday. The company posted a pre-tax profit of £114.7m, up from £61.6m from the same period last year. Read more: Property transactions surge to record high in June Prospective [...]
Green and pleasant land? The future of cannabis use in the UK July 29, 2021 Smoking as a social activity suffered a heavy blow around 15 years ago. Between 2006 and 2007, the four parts of the United Kingdom brought in new laws prohibiting smoking in public places, with Scotland being the first to take the leap. I bear a sliver of responsibility: I worked for the House of Commons [...]
Lords committee: UK and EU both to blame for Northern Ireland Protocol mess July 29, 2021 A House of Lords committee has laid the blame for the mess around the Northern Ireland Protocol at the feet of both the UK and the EU, urging the two to come to a compromise solution. The Lords’ European Affairs Committee report into the protocol said Brussels needed to implement the protocol in a more [...]
Weaker economic backdrop presents fresh headaches for Fed July 28, 2021 Today’s Federal Open Market Committee announcements come amid mounting concerns that the rapid rise in Covid cases could dampen the global economic recovery. This backdrop presents a different set of problems for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to when he last spoke in June. Recovery prospects are still good, but have tempered. Investors around the world [...]
Rampant housing demand boosts Santander profits July 28, 2021 Strong mortgage lending boosted Santander’s profits in the first half of this year as demand in the UK housing market soared. Profits before tax at the lender were up more than fivefold to £751m, up from £148m in the same period last year. Higher net-interest income – the difference between what a bank receives from [...]