Private sector set for summertime boom May 2, 2021 The private sector is set for a booming few months, with growth predicted to be at its highest since June 2015, according to growth estimates from the CBI. Private sector activity broadly is expected to grow 32 per cent in the next three months, with growth predictions for business and professional services firms (+48%) at [...]
Tower Hamlets faces surge testing following discovery of Brazil and South African variants May 1, 2021 Surge testing will take place in Tower Hamlets from tomorrow after variants first discovered in South Africa and Brazil were found in the borough. All the confirmed cases are self-isolating and there are no links between these cases and the cluster of cases recently identified in South London. The Department for Health and Social Care has [...]
Marks & Spencer chair: More young faces are needed on company boards May 1, 2021 Archie Norman, chairman of Marks & Spencer, has said company boards are “made up of old people”, and as a result are not able to keep pace with disruptive, smarter and faster technological advances. Norman, who is also chairman of Signal AI, an artificial intelligence-powered public relations platform, and special advisor to Lazard Bank, said [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire bounds back from worst of pandemic May 1, 2021 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has said its results are rebounding from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that it has extended its aggressive stock repurchases with $6.6bn of new buybacks. First-quarter results suggest that the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate that owns dozens of businesses, is through the worst effects of the pandemic, including the [...]
Thousands hit the dance floor in Liverpool to party like it’s 2019 May 1, 2021 Thousands of clubbers returned to the dance floor last night for a Covid safety pilot event in Liverpool that saw partygoers head to a nightclub mask-free and with no social distancing. Some 3,000 individuals turned out for the event, which took place at Circus nightclub in Liverpool, and required ticket holders to provide proof of [...]
New Credit Suisse chair Horta-Osório says bank’s crisis is worst he’s seen May 1, 2021 New Credit Suisse chair António Horta-Osório has told investors the recent crisis at the bank is the worst he has seen in his career. Speaking at an annual meeting yesterday the former Lloyds boss told investors the situation at Credit Suisse was severe. “I have personally worked at and led several banks in different countries [...]
Isolation rules axed for care home residents in England taking low-risk trips May 1, 2021 Care home residents will be able to leave their home for low-risk trips without having to isolate for 14 days afterwards. The rules will be relaxed in England from Tuesday, and will mean those in care homes can go for walks or garden visits without self-isolation. Coronavirus cases have fallen dramatically in the UK in [...]
Overseas holidays to get the go ahead from 17 May with rules attached May 1, 2021 The ban on overseas holidays will end on 17 May, the government will announce next week, in a move that will legalise foreign travel for the first time in months. A traffic light system will be introduced, and those who choose to travel will be expected to take a PCR test before returning to the [...]
HMRC repays overtaxed pensioners £716m in six years April 30, 2021 Savers overtaxed on pension freedom withdrawals have reclaimed £716m since 2015, when changes were introduced that allowed savers to flexibly access their pensions. The overtaxation occurs when someone accesses their retirement ‘flexibly’ for the first time in a tax year – which can include taking income via drawdown or withdrawing ad-hoc lump sums – HMRC [...]
Central line tube strike expected on polling day April 30, 2021 A 24-hour long Central line tube strike is expected to go ahead on 6 May, a date that coincides with polling day for London’s mayor elections. Central line train operators, Night Tube train operators and instructor operators at Leytonstone, Loughton, West Ruislip & White City Traincrew Depots will take strike action by not booking on [...]