UK signs deal for 90m more coronavirus vaccine doses August 14, 2020 The UK government has signed a deal for 90m more coronavirus vaccine doses from US biotech company Novavax and Belgian pharma giant Janssen. That means the UK has now agreed deals for a stockpile of 340m vaccine doses, and six different types of coronavirus vaccines. The government did not reveal how much it has agreed [...]
ECB beefs up bond-buying to €1.35 trillion to boost Eurozone economy June 4, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) has dramatically increased its bond-buying programme in a bid to stimulate the moribund Eurozone economy, which has been battered by coronavirus. The ECB added €600bn (£540bn) to its €750bn pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP), which it launched in March. It kept its main deposit interest rate on hold at minus [...]
BoE’s Andrew Bailey tells UK banks to up preparations for no-deal Brexit June 3, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reportedly told UK banks to ramp up their preparations for a no-deal Brexit as the UK sticks to its target to strike a deal before the end of the year. Bailey told British lenders to accelerate their planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario in a call yesterday, according [...]
Government slammed for relying ‘too much’ on management consultants in Brexit preparations December 1, 2020 The government relies “too much” on management consultants for work on Brexit preparations “that could be better done by civil servants”, the select committee on government spending has warned. In a wide-ranging report published today, the Public Accounts Committee slammed the government’s negligence of civil servants in preparing for Brexit, amid warnings that ministers are [...]
Italian and French economies crash in first quarter as coronavirus bites May 29, 2020 The Italian and French economies shrank by more than five per cent in the first quarter of the year as normal life was halted to try to tackle coronavirus, data has confirmed. France’s statistics body today said its economy shrank by 5.3 per cent, slightly less than originally thought. But it was still the worst [...]
European Commission proposes 30-day travel ban on people entering EU March 16, 2020 European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a 30-day ban on incoming foreign travel to the European Union as leaders battle to limit the spread of the coronavirous outbreak. Von der Leyen said: “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore, I propose to the heads of state and government [...]
Which Covid vaccines has the UK government ordered? February 4, 2021 The UK passed a significant milestone yesterday after health secretary Matt Hancock announced that more than 10m people across the country have now received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The news buoyed hopes of a return to normality by the summer, with Britain now firmly ahead of targets to vaccinate the most vulnerable [...]
EU suspends landing slots rule in bid to ease burden on beleaguered airlines March 10, 2020 The EU has dropped a rule meaning that airlines must run the majority of their scheduled services or risk losing profitable landing slots in a bid to give the industry some relief amid the coronavirus outbreak. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said that the bloc would temporarily do away with [...]
Why have almost half EU countries restricted use of the Astrazeneca vaccine? February 10, 2021 The World Health Organization (WHO) this afternoon recommended the rollout of Astrazeneca’s Covid vaccine for use in all age groups, after a slew of European countries slapped limitations on the jab’s distribution. WHO officials said a “preponderance of evidence weighed in favour of not constraining the vaccine for certain age groups”, and refused to recommend [...]
Boris Johnson signs Brexit deal and paves way for UK to leave the bloc next week January 25, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has officially signed the EU Withdrawal Agreement paving the way for Brexit to happen next Friday. He said it was “fantastic” and that the UK could now “move forward as one country” as he signed the deal hours after EU figures had done the same. Johnson said this marked the end [...]