Features

Feb- 2020 -

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…

5 February

Tesla, Macy’s and organic food: serious change is afoot

Sometimes change is sudden and surprising, but sometimes it bubbles away under the surface for decades before making a serious impact, and in today’s roundup I have a few examples of the latter to highlight. First, there is Tesla. The firm led by billionaire space-AI Elon Musk has long been…

5 February

Pet Tech: must-have apps for the modern day dog-lover

Earlier this month, a Japanese startup took pet tech to the next level when it revealed a specially crafted dog harness that senses your dog’s emotions. Langualess, the creators behind the invention, unveiled the hyped up product to the wonderment of dog lovers across the world. While the perennial human…

3 February

What’s Nissan driving at with Brexit plans?

Now that the technical aspect of leaving the EU has happened on paper, we are into the implementation period, but the negotiations will soon get going once again. The pound fell today as in a speech which actually overlapped Michel Barnier’s opening salvo with competing coverage, Boris Johnson reiterated his view that…