Covid procurement falls victim to whiff of cronyism

Linda J. Dodson

Yet it also speaks directly to much wider concerns over the Government’s handling of the pandemic. In one case, highlighted by a recent National Audit Office report, the Department of Health awarded a series of contracts collectively worth £135.5m for Chinese ventilators to a company only formally incorporated as little […]

We must change our Covid strategy before the sky falls

Linda J. Dodson

Haldane argued, though, that the second-quarter monthly breakdown showed that while the economy fell off a cliff in April and May, when the lockdown was tightest, it bounced back strongly during June. The media must avoid “catastrophising”, he said, lest ongoing bad outcomes become a self-fulfilling prophesy. “This is human […]

Curtain falls on Cineworld’s debt-fuelled expansion

Linda J. Dodson

Cineworld alleges that its rival has breached its covenants, a reference, it is thought, to a pre-agreed ceiling of $725m (£578m) on its debts. Cineworld has also invoked a “material adverse” clause, though Cineplex argues that the agreement “excludes any outbreaks of illness or other acts of God” from the definition, […]