“Vaccine will come, but not without huge challenges” – leading world epidemiologist June 29, 2020 Professor Peter Piot, a legend in the field of virology and the fights against HIV and Ebola, is optimistic about a Covid vaccine. But he sees recurrent outbreaks as unavoidable. Professor Peter Piot was not surprised by the outbreak of a global pandemic earlier this year. “We always assumed there would be a big one”, [...]
MPs cast doubt over Crossrail 2020 opening aim as they warn Elizabeth Line may need more than £2.8bn bailout April 3, 2019 MPs are “not convinced” that Crossrail will open in 2020 and fear the project will need more than the extra £2.8bn in funding it received to stay afloat, according to a damning report released today. Spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the costs of the railway, also known as the Elizabeth Line, had [...]
Gold hits record high – but is it really too expensive? July 29, 2020 Even as it reaches new highs, we don’t think it’s time to grow concerned about the price of gold, or gold equities. Here’s why. The gold price has been rising steadily and on Monday (27 July) hit an all-time high of $1,944/oz, beating its previous record high of $1,922 from 2011. Chart 1: The gold [...]
TfL has the worst gender pay gap of all of City Hall’s agencies, new data reveals January 3, 2019 The gender pay gap at Transport for London (TfL) grew to 21.5 per cent last year – the only City Hall body to have seen an increase in the difference between men and women’s average hourly earnings. Last year the gender pay gap at TfL, which is chaired by London mayor Sadiq Khan, increased by 1.8 [...]
The four “M”s: why the 21st century belongs to Asia November 18, 2020 For a look into the future of the global economy, and where the power is shifting, consider technology developments in both China and India., In a mere decade, China’s e-commerce market has grown from less than 1% of global sales, into the world’s largest market in 2016, representing more than 40% of transactions by value. [...]
Financial services should be at the heart of trade talks March 5, 2020 In my experience, financial services are rarely the focus of heated family discussions, or of so-called water cooler conversations with colleagues and friends. Instead, we tend to become passionate about individual politicians or teachers, healthcare or utility companies. This is entirely understandable given that those issues affect our everyday lives — or at least are [...]
The Coronavirus Bill: Everything you need to know March 25, 2020 As Britain continues to ramp up its response to the coronavirus outbreak, MPs have voted through a bill that gives the government new powers to tackle the crisis. The Coronavirus Bill, expected to become law this week, has the potential to bring in sweeping changes to our daily lives in a bid to curb the [...]
Coronavirus outbreak: Sportswear giants Puma and Adidas warn on trading impact February 19, 2020 German sportswear giants Puma and Adidas have warned that the outbreak of coronavirus in China has hurt trading due to the temporary closure of stores and a drop in footfall. Puma said the outbreak will impact sales and profits in the first quarter of the year, after it was forced to shutter more than half [...]
Five trends to watch in China’s consumer sector November 3, 2020 As the world continues to try to contain the spread of Covid-19, China is among the few countries sustaining a return to normal activity. Restrictions on movement have been lifted and the government’s test and trace system has so far proven effective in containing new outbreaks. As a result, shops, restaurants and other services have [...]
Global banks ‘scrutinise Hong Kong clients for pro-democracy ties’ July 20, 2020 Global banks are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city’s pro-democracy movement, sources have warned Six people with knowledge of the matter said banks are scrutinising clients in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China’s new national security law. Bankers at Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), [...]