For businesses, there are a number of strategic implications. Those whose sales and operations span the entire country, or several customer segments, will need to reimagine products and sales offerings to match the large-scale shifts in consumer incomes, attitudes and behaviours. At the same time, the highly different effects on […]
Analysis
What to do if you want a refund but the company has gone bust
Countless businesses have been fighting for survival during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, leaving many customers concerned they may never get their money back on purchases made before the crisis hit. Airlines, event organisers and hotels have been among the worst affected and been inundated with refund requests. Many […]
Who would buy shares in an airline with a grounded fleet? Me, that’s who
Funds versus shares So what horse have I gambled The Boy’s future on? The bulk is being used to buy units in a “tracker” fund run by American firm Vanguard. Vanguard’s late founder Jack Bogle is known as the godfather of index investing, that is the principle that it is […]
China is not strong enough to pull off its bid for world dominance
The security law covers “subversion, terrorism, splittism, and interference by foreign countries or foreign influences”, the same categories that are routinely used within mainland China to crush the slightest flicker of civil dissent. Apologists claiming that this is a minor breach of Hong Kong’s autonomy – and this seems to […]
Pubs need two metre rule watered down to survive
Major pub companies are more circumspect. “No-one wants to put their head above the parapet,” says one industry insider. “There is a growing consensus among MPs that social distancing could be relaxed to 1.5 metres or 1 metre. But there is huge nervousness [within Government] that until they get the guidance from Sage, […]
Dealers are open again – but who wants to buy a car?
Thanks to the lifting of lockdown restrictions, car dealers reopened their doors to customers on Monday – but mainly by appointment to avoid overcrowding. Showrooms are generally spacious, making it fairly easy to adapt to social distancing measures such as one-way systems to control the flow of people. With 117 […]
Inside the talks to end the UK’s reliance on Huawei
At the start of the year, before coronavirus swept across the country, politicians had a very different crisis on their hands. Boris Johnson announced he was allowing Chinese firm Huawei to build part of the UK’s 5G network – and Donald Trump was furious. The US view was that it […]
Worst month since the crisis? These house price falls are only the beginning
The first real sign of how the lockdown damaged the property market is here: the lender Nationwide said house prices fell by 1.7pc between April and May, the biggest monthly decline since February 2009. These figures don’t really reflect the market or the economic forces at work – just the impact […]
This is no time to dump the UK’s inflation target
But if nominal GDP is the magic bullet, then central banks all around the world must be doing it? Nope. As James Bullard, the Federal Reserve rate-setter said last year, to his knowledge not one central bank is using nominal GDP and in any case, “if you wanted to make […]
Race to run the World Trade Organisation heats up
Others say it’s Africa’s turn. Nigeria’s Yonov Frederick Agah, one of Azevedo’s deputies, and Eloi Laourou, Benin’s ambassador to the United Nations are on the list, along with Hamid Mamdouh, a lawyer and former WTO director of trade in services and investment who was previously a trade negotiator for Egypt. Mamdouh […]