Supersizing DAZN: Why a UK launch is just the start of the sport streaming service’s global ambitions December 11, 2020 “Supersizing” is the buzzword of the moment at DAZN, the sport streaming service that finally launched in the UK this month. It’s an appropriate one, in that it reflects DAZN’s expansion to more than 200 countries, making it the first global platform of its kind. It is also suitably bullish for a company that is [...]
Coronavirus: The human cost is tragic but winners will emerge May 1, 2020 The human toll is heavy, both physically and morally, health systems are pushed to their limit, the number of bankruptcies is increasing, and millions of jobs have been lost. This crisis affects billions of people around the world in what looks like a major recession, the first in twelve years. The scope of the events [...]
UK economy receives fresh warnings before Rishi Sunak addresses MPs May 18, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to address MPs today following new dire predictions of the impact of coronavirus on the UK economy. Sunak is set to face questions over how the UK will pay for huge public borrowing currently propping up the economy. The Treasury boss extended his job retention scheme to October last week, [...]
Two in five UK workers living payday to payday, says survey February 11, 2020 Two out of five UK employees are living payday to payday, a new survey has found, with women and younger workers more likely to be financially stressed. The figures, from insurance firm Willis Towers Watson (WTW), suggest that workers feel increasingly financially vulnerable even as unemployment has hit record lows. Last week, the Joseph Rowntree [...]
Let’s transform our coastal communities into the beating heart of a green industrial revolution July 13, 2020 Covid-19 is set to do long-term damage to the communities of the three million people who live along the UK coastline. These communities often felt neglected even before the outbreak, and now they are especially vulnerable. Coastal constituencies overwhelmingly voted Conservative in the 2019 election on the promise of a “levelling up” agenda. Yet they [...]
Coronavirus: Here comes the startup chancellor April 20, 2020 Startups are the economy’s ‘department for the future.’ Their job is to future-proof all the other sectors – from retail and banking through ecommerce to public services. They are vital to the UK’s post-Brexit, post-Covid-19 future. They are also among its most vulnerable. Look up ‘start-up’ in the Cambridge Dictionary and the first example of [...]
Climate activists: Prepare to win the peace after the coronavirus war March 27, 2020 Winston Churchill may have won the war, but Clement Attlee won the peace. The pill that Churchill swallowed was bittered by the fact that his victory had paved the way for Attlee’s. Without the spirit forged by the collective efforts of wartime, there would have been little appetite to build Attlee’s welfare state when peace [...]
We are facing a mental health crisis among our young people — one we cannot afford to ignore August 21, 2020 The cost of Covid-19 keeps climbing. So far, the government is forecast to borrow £400bn in this financial year alone. Whether we like it or not, that money will have to be paid back — but the longer social distancing measures remain in place, workers stay furloughed, and consumers save rather than spend, the greater [...]
Lloyds swings to loss as it sets aside extra £2.4bn for bad loans July 30, 2020 UK banking giant Lloyds swung to a £600m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year today as coronavirus cost it an extra £2.4bn. The provision for loan losses was bigger than the £1.5bn analysts had anticipated. It took total provisions for the first half of the year to £3.8bn. Read more: Barclays braces [...]
Coronavirus: Universities call for state aid with income set to plunge April 10, 2020 The UK’s universities have written to the government to request financial assistance as they brace for an estimated £800m drop in income this academic year. In an open letter sent to the chancellor and the education secretary, sector body Universities UK warned that higher education establishments could lose as much as £7bn in international student [...]