Features

Feb- 2020 -

21 February

Barclays as Big Brother, storms batter insurance companies, Redcar steels itself for renewal

The TUC says Barclays’ surveillance of its employees is ‘dystopian’ after it was revealed the bank uses software to monitor how long employees spend at their desks and issues warnings if they are away for too long. Bosses have been running a test of the system in the London office…

20 February

Boeing’s tanks fuel new concerns, house prices on the up, Lloyds in the doldrums, hazardous chemicals a pest in poorer countries

Boeing’s faulty plane woes have worsened after ‘foreign object debris’ (FOD) was found in the fuel tanks of two ground 737 Max aircraft – that’s the model that has had two fatal crashes and become the subject of Congressional investigation in the United States. The manufacturer had to ground the entire…

19 February

Inflation jumps, physical money nearing the end, immigration to prioritise skills, £150m film studio to launch

Inflation has reached its highest rate in six months, at 1.8%, after the price of fuel and energy rose over the course of the last year. The consumer prices index (CPI) which measures the rate by monitoring the price of consumer goods, was expected to come in at 1.6%, so this…

18 February

HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs, new chancellor sticks to schedule, Bezos creates $10bn ‘Earth fund’

HSBC has announced plans to cut 35,000 jobs over the next three years after a dire set of financial results. Profits have fallen by 33% year on year and that is before the impact of the coronavirus can even be fully measured in Q1 and the months to come. The virus has…

17 February

15 minutes with: Kaleel Sakakeeny, an ordained animal chaplain

Having read the title of this article, you might be forgiven for scratching your head and wondering: what on earth is an animal chaplain? Perhaps your mind conjures images of a church filled to the brim with animals being blessed by said animal chaplain. Or perhaps the opposite, a dog…

12 February

Parasite boosts Spanish crisp sales

Now that’s the kind of headline journalists like to write. But unfortunately, now that you’re reading the article, the subterfuge must be exposed. We’re not talking about parasites that look for hosts, and we’re not talking about infected food. Instead we’re talking about the Korean movie sensation that just won…

11 February

Do your bit for dog health by recommending pre-mating health testing

Promoting dog health schemes is one of my goals this year. As vets, we regularly see cases of debilitating and distressing inherited conditions in day to day practice, but we know that many people may wrongly believe these tests are only relevant for Kennel Club-registered pedigrees. I often saw Labrador…

11 February

Yes, the trade barriers are coming

I think both Leavers and Remainers probably expected this in the long run – Michael Gove announced yesterday that businesses should “accept” that frictionless trade with the EU will be impossible whatever agreement is finally reached by the deadline of 31 December this year. This is the cost, he says, of making…

10 February

Ocado ditches Waitrose; Bill gates orders £500m beast-yacht; Boris to lower immigration wage threshold

A busy start to the week in the business pages. As the coronavirus story unfolds I am reluctant to spend every day providing updates on it, but it is worth noting quickly that there is likely to be some worldwide economic turbulence due to the latest developments. A slew of…

7 February

UK laws dog owners may not be aware of

PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) estimates that 50% of adults in the UK own a pet, with around 51 million pets being residents in our homes. We are certainly a nation of pet lovers. It splits pretty evenly among dogs and cats – doing nothing to settle the debate on which…