Competitive sectors face the hardest hit from coronavirus March 31, 2020 The package of economic support offered by the Treasury — from a standing start — is one of the most impressive among any western country. But the cascading consequences of the coronavirus crisis mean that there are all kinds of areas where the pleas for help continue to come. Small businesses, for example, are the [...]
Wellcome Trust urges firms to donate £6bn to medical coronavirus fight April 7, 2020 Health research charity the Wellcome Trust has urged big businesses to donate £6.4bn ($8bn) to fund treatments, testing and vaccine development to fight coronavirus. Coronavirus has now infected more than 1.3m people around the world and killed more than 74,000. The World Health Organization has urged countries to ramp up testing. Countries are scrambling to [...]
Outlook 2022: UK equities December 16, 2021 The UK holds many mispriced opportunities for stockpickers. Pick-up in M&A activity is striking. Stock market fit for the future. Sue Noffke, Head of UK Equities: UK shares remain cheap because of the perceived significant political and economic risks of Brexit, which continue to linger and depress the valuation of the UK stock market. We [...]
Sadiq Khan: There will be no swift return to normality for TfL May 6, 2020 The Covid-19 health crisis has led to thousands of Londoners losing their lives with grief, anxiety and anguish touching too many lives. Many businesses and livelihoods have been adversely affected. It has also had a profound impact on public transport in London – and will continue to do so long into the future. Since the [...]
We now have a unique opportunity to end rough sleeping in London for good June 13, 2020 Where do we go from here? It’s a question many of us are asking ourselves, as lockdown measures are gradually eased and we start to move from dealing with the day-to-day impact of the pandemic to looking towards the longer-term future. For the nearly 1,400 rough sleepers who have been accommodated in London hotels, paid [...]
Welcome to the world of decentralised finance January 19, 2021 Decentralised Finance or “DeFi” for short is an ecosystem of financial tools and services that are built on open-source networks and do not involve any centralised institutions. If you’re someone who takes an interest in the crypto space, you’ve probably heard about DeFi this year, as the space has rapidly grown from just over $600M [...]
We should mourn the immeasurable social and economic damage lockdown has inflicted on this country July 1, 2020 I knew it was coming. The torrent of media coverage looking back on 100 days of lockdown like a grossly nostalgic showreel. Carefully crafted articles painting a picture of British resilience and togetherness, celebrating the nation’s bravery and enjoyment of the simple things. I regret to inform you that I will not be spending my [...]
Minimum wage hike to go ahead despite coronavirus pressure on businesses March 31, 2020 The UK minimum wage is set to rise tomorrow as planned despite calls for the government to postpone the increase due to the coronavirus outbreak. The National Minimum Wage will increase 6.2 per cent from £8.21 to £8.72 per hour from 1 April, despite the economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, two thinktanks [...]
Coronavirus: A traffic light loosening gives the economy hope April 8, 2020 The strategy of exiting from the lockdown is far too important to be left in the hands of health professionals. The government’s advisors have played very valuable roles in helping to avert the sort of crisis which overwhelmed the health services in Northern Italy. Many who were seriously ill with the virus died unnecessarily because [...]
COVID-19, the perfect storm for women: Work, trade and immigration November 24, 2020 The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been profound. Economies around the world are in a state of extreme distress, and businesses in all sectors and of all sizes, are to reimagine if not transform their traditional work practices. Many are struggling with changing regulations or reduced demand, whereas others are wrestling with remote-work and [...]