Millions will need third Covid vaccine dose in the autumn February 8, 2021 Millions of people will likely need a third vaccine dose in the autumn, amid growing concerns that the Astrazeneca jab may not be effective against the new South African Covid variant. It is understood that NHS chiefs are planning for the extra doses to be given alongside annual winter flu jabs, after a new study [...]
German finance minister lashes out at EU vaccine drought February 6, 2021 Germany’s finance minister has renewed tensions within the bloc following a high-profile tussle last week over EU vaccine shortages. Olaf Scholz told the BBC this afternoon he was “angry about some of the decisions that were taken last year”, among suggestions that the EU failed to order sufficient vaccine supplies for its member states. So [...]
Turrican Flashback is a nostalgic paradise of synths and bullets February 6, 2021 Nostalgia, as they say, is one hell of a drug, and in lockdown we’ve been getting very, very high. A generation of middle aged men – myself included – have helped push shares in Games Workshop through the roof as they rediscover the hobby that saw them through their teenage years. The Turrican Flashback collection, [...]
GameStop and the ethics of short sellers February 5, 2021 | City Talk The global media has recently been entranced by a battle between retail traders and hedge funds over the US computer game store, GameStop. It has also shone a light on a practice that makes many people feel uneasy: “short selling”. So much so that lots of members of the Reddit community which spearheaded the attack [...]
Amazon to hire 1,000 UK apprentices as revenue surges February 5, 2021 Amazon will hire 1,000 apprentices across the UK this year as the ecommerce giant continues its rapid expansion amid a pandemic-driven trading boom. The US tech firm said the roles will cover more than two dozen different programmes ranging from engineering, safety technicians and broadcast production to IT and HR. The plan includes 100 degree-level [...]
Year of the unicorn: 24 companies have surpassed $1bn valuation this year already February 5, 2021 There has been somewhat of a stampede of companies reaching unicorn status since the start of the year following a strong year for the tech sector. Some 24 companies have already reached $1bn valuation since the start of the year with a particularly strong showing from e-commerce and fintech companies, according to research by Tipalti. [...]
Scottish rocket company to clean up space debris from 2023 February 4, 2021 The UK could become a world leader in tackling space debris after successful trials of a ‘space tug’ align with a new UN space initiative, the Scottish rocket company behind the development said today. Skyrora said that its orbit transfer vehicle, part of its Skyrora XL rocket, could clear debris, reposition satellites and remove redundant [...]
More than 1m Londoners have received first dose of Covid vaccine February 4, 2021 More than 1m people in London have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, following concerns that the capital had been falling behind in the nation’s immunisation programme. Official figures published last night showed 1,011,490 Londoners have received their first dose of either the Astrazeneca/Oxford University or Pfizer/Biontech vaccines, while a further 60,658 people [...]
Paypal profit surges as it cashes in on online shopping boom February 3, 2021 Paypal posted a surge in profit in the fourth quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic sparked a sharp rise in online shopping. The payments processor posted net profit of $1.6bn (£1.2bn) for the last three months of 2020, up 209 per cent on the same period the year before. It came on revenue of $6.1bn, which [...]
Amazon’s UK sales surge to £20bn thanks to lockdown boom February 3, 2021 Amazon’s UK revenue jumped more than 50 per cent to hit $26.5bn (£20bn) last year as coronavirus lockdown sparked bumper demand for online shopping. The US tech giant last night reported full-year sales of $280.5bn, with revenue surpassing $125bn in the final three months of the year alone. But in-depth documents filed with the Security [...]
