U.S. jobs growth slows well below forecasts January 7, 2022 US jobs growth fell well below forecasts in December as rising COVID-19 infections disrupted economic activity, according to official data released today. The figure in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that the US economy added 199,000 jobs in December, after economists polled by Reuters had anticiapted a rise of 400,000. Unemployment levels [...]
British factories lift prices at record pace as Ukraine war and China lockdowns send costs soaring May 3, 2022 Severe supply chain disruption caused by Beijing persisting with its zero-Covid tolerance policy and Russia’s war with Ukraine has sent British factories’ costs soaring at the quickest pace on record, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Shortages of raw materials and key components used by UK manufacturers due to normal trade flows being choked [...]
Global airlines could take $113bn hit from Covid-19, four times worse than past predictions March 5, 2020 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that the coronavirus could cost the global industry up to $113bn this year, nearly four times larger than previous estimates. The industry body’s best-case scenario sees a minimum hit of $63bn if the Covid-19 virus is contained within current markets, but said this figure could nearly double [...]
Omicron onslaught: Number of Brits with Covid jumps by nearly a million to 2.3m while NHS staff off sick with coronavirus doubles December 31, 2021 An estimated 2.3 million people in the UK had Covid-19 in the week ending December 23, up from 1.4 million in the week to December 16 and the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, the Office for National Statistics said. Meanwhile, the number of NHS hospital staff in England absent due to [...]
Silencing Joe Rogan ‘not the answer,’ says Spotify Boss February 7, 2022 The chief executive of Spotify has rejected calls to ban Joe Rogan from the platform after removing dozens of his podcast episodes.
Covid: Self-isolation and all other restrictions to be dropped this month February 9, 2022 Self-isolation requirements and all other remaining Covid restrictions will be dropped by the end of this month for England, Boris Johnson has announced. Johnson told MPs today that the government would soon bring forward a full strategy to deal with the later stages of the pandemic and that all restrictions will be dropped around 24 [...]
Dry January: Pub bosses call on Brits to do their duty and get down the local – even if it’s for non-alcoholic beers January 3, 2023 Publicans have issued a rallying cry for punters to continue to back their local boozer this month as the industry battles an economic downturn – despite the growing trend for a ‘dry January‘ month off the sauce. The sector has struggled with sky-high energy bills all while consumers’ feel the pinch of household bills increasing [...]
HMRC receives record high £157bn from VAT bills after tax holiday ends May 6, 2022 HMRC collected a record £157.2bn from VAT bills in 2021/22, a 55 per cent increase on the £101bn collected the year before.
UK services economy stands strong amid Omicron Plan B assault January 24, 2022 Britain’s services economy has stood strong in the face of the re-emergence of curbs on daily life in a bid to clamp down on the Omicron variant, reveals a closely watched survey released today. IHS Markit’s latest flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the UK services industry came in at 53.3 for January, a marginal [...]
Downing Street held birthday party for prime minister, say reports January 24, 2022 Downing Street staff and the prime minister’s wife reportedly held a party for Boris Johnson’s birthday in 2020, despite lockdown measures banning such activity. In yet another layer to the party scandal cake, Carrie Johnson led the gathering of up to 30 guests in No 10 on June 19, ITV News first reported. She is [...]