Business news - NewsLocker

Trafigura says employee detained in China over cargo shipment

12-11-2020 23:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Trafigura AG said on Thursday one of its employees had been detained in China after customs rejected and launched a probe into a cargo with "high iron content" that the trader had shipped to a major Chinese steel firm.In a post on its official Weibo account earlier this month, China's General Administration of Customs said customs officers from the city of Zhanjiang, in southern China's Guangdong province, had detained a suspect in Shanghai in a solid waste smuggling case.A video accompanying th

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WeWork losses mount but sees 'seismic shift' in office leasing to its favor

12-11-2020 23:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

WeWork Companies LLC's revenue declined but its cash burn slowed in the third quarter, a company memo showed on Thursday, as management expressed confidence the shared-workplace provider can weather the hit to the global office sector from COVID-19.Quarterly revenue slid 8% from the second quarter to $811 million (£618 million), while the company posted negative free cash flow of $517 million, less than $671 million of cash burn a quarter ago, WeWork said in the memo to employees seen by R

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Exclusive: Instacart taps Goldman Sachs to lead IPO at $30 billion valuation - sources

12-11-2020 23:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Instacart was valued at $17.7 billion last month, when it raised $200 million in a private fundraising round.Were the IPO to push Instacart's valuation to close to $30 billion, it would underscore the rapid growth of its business as more consumers turn to it to shop for groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic.The San Francisco-based company is accelerating its IPO plans after voters in California backed a ballot proposal last week that upheld the status of app-based delivery drivers as independen

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Hancock: Covid-19 vaccines could be flown in to avoid Brexit border disruption

12-11-2020 23:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Cabinet minister said: 'If necessary we can fly in order to avoid those problems… we’ve got a plan for all eventualities.'

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U.S. government appeals order blocking TikTok ban from taking effect

12-11-2020 22:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it had appealed a Pennsylvania judge's Oct. 30 order that blocked the government from imposing restrictions on Chinese-owned TikTok that were set to take effect today.The Commerce Department's August order was to take effect late Thursday barring transactions with ByteDance's short video sharing app TikTok that its owner had warned would have effectively barred its use in the United States.The Commerce Department said Nov. 1 it would comply with Judge

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Zuckerberg defends not suspending ex-Trump aide Bannon from Facebook - recording

12-11-2020 22:13 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

FacebookChief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told an all-staff meeting on Thursday that former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had not violated enough of the company's policies to justify his suspension when he urged the beheading of two senior U.S. officials, according to a recording heard by Reuters.Zuckerberg acknowledged criticism of Facebook by President-elect Joe Biden but said the company shared some of the Biden team's same concerns about social media.Bannon suggested in a video posted

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Disney posts smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly revenue, shares rise

12-11-2020 22:13 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Most of Disney's theme parks, including its flagship resort in Florida, opened up for visitors during the quarter, but with limited attendance, mask requirements and other safeguards.Disneyland in California has remained shut since March and Disneyland Paris was forced to close for a second time in October as virus cases spiked in France."Even with the disruption caused by COVID-19, we've been able to effectively manage our businesses while also taking bold, deliberate steps to position our comp

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Disney gains 74m subscribers in a silver lining for Covid-hit giant

12-11-2020 22:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Walt Disney has added 73.7m subscribers to its streaming service launched last year, in a bright spot for the entertainment titan which is reeling from the impact of Covid on its theme parks and studios. The California-based company said revenue fell 23pc for the three months to October 3, to $14.71bn, compared to the same period last year. Results, however, were better than an expected 26pc fall forecast by Bloomberg analysts, despite the pandemic forcing its parks to temporarily shut down and

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Disney+ gains 74m subscribers in a silver lining for business amid Covid

12-11-2020 22:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Walt Disney has added 73.7m subscribers to its streaming service launched last year, in a bright spot for the entertainment titan which is reeling from the impact of Covid on its theme parks and studios. The California-based company said revenue fell 23pc for the three months to October 3, to $14.71bn, compared to the same period last year. Results, however, were better than an expected 26pc fall forecast by Bloomberg analysts, despite the pandemic forcing its parks to temporarily shut down and

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U.S. senator urges FTC to interview Facebook ex-officials

12-11-2020 21:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican and a tough critic of the big tech companies, urged the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to interview some former employees of Facebook Incas part of its probe of the social media giant.Both the FTC and groups of state attorneys general are widely believed to be planning litigation against Facebook for breaking antitrust law.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to halt Ant's IPO - WSJ

12-11-2020 21:09 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The decision to stop what would have been the world's largest ever IPO, came days after the fintech giant's billionaire founder Jack Ma launched a public attack on the country's financial watchdogs and banks.President Xi ordered Chinese regulators to investigate and effectively shut down Ant's stock market flotation, the report said https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-president-xi-jinping-halted-jack-ma-ant-ipo-11605203556?mod=hp_lead_pos4.

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Amazon sues two influencers for promoting counterfeit goods on social media using loophole scheme

12-11-2020 21:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Kelly Fitzpatrick and Sabrina Kelly-Krejci allegedly used “Order this/Get this” system to evade rules

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Markets report: Defence review hope fires up QinetiQ

12-11-2020 20:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Arms firm QinetiQ soared yesterday after it said robots and cyber warriors are likely to be a bigger feature than traditional tanks and jet fighters in the delayed defence and security review. The prediction from Steve Wadey, the chief executive, came as the defence and contractor company also delivered strong results. Revenue was up almost 25pc to £603m in the six months to the end of September, and pre-tax profits were 15pc better at £82m. Its shares boosted 32.2p to 323.20p, in th

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YouTube Rewind 2020: Controversial video cancelled for first time ever

12-11-2020 20:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

YouTube will cancel its annual “Rewind” video, the controversial look back at the past year.The 2018 recap became the site’s least popular video ever – after excluding high-profile people such as PewDiePie, and including celebrities famous from outside of YouTube – and the 2019 version attracted ire too.Now YouTube says that 2020’s video will not take place because of the nature of the year.

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Arkansas is offering remote workers a $10,000 incentive to move to the Ozarks

12-11-2020 20:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Accepted applicants will also receive a free bike

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Treasury messed up over B&M's Covid rates freebie

12-11-2020 20:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Treasury messed up over B&M;'s Covid rates freebie. Where shops were open and sales booming, there was no case for a year’s relief from business rates

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NatWest Group eyes Sainsbury's Bank for potential takeover

12-11-2020 20:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

NatWest Group eyes Sainsbury's Bank for potential takeover. Any acquisition would be the lender’s first major deal since its £45bn government bailout in 2008

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U.N. chief to push G20 to extend, expand debt service suspension

12-11-2020 20:03 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will next week push the leaders of the Group of 20 rich nations and big emerging powers to further extend and expand debt service suspension to help developing and middle-income economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.Guterres, addressing a virtual annual ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 developing countries plus China, said on Thursday "many developing countries are suffering from severe liquidity crises related to skyrocketing debt" and the

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Trump bans U.S. investments in firms linked to Chinese military

12-11-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting U.S. investments in Chinese firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the U.S. election.The order, which was first reported by Reuters, could impact some of China's biggest companies, including telecoms firms China Telecom Corp Ltd , China Mobile Ltdand surveillance equipment maker Hikvision .The move is designed to deter U.S. investment firms, pensi

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Trump administration unveils move to crack down on U.S. investments in Chinese firms

12-11-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting U.S. investments in Chinese firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the U.S. election.The order, which was first reported by Reuters, could impact some of China's biggest companies, including telecoms firms China Telecom Corp Ltd , China Mobile Ltdand surveillance equipment maker Hikvision .

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Trump administration readies crackdown on U.S. investments in Chinese firms - sources

12-11-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Trump administration plans to unveil an executive order to prohibit U.S. investments in Chinese firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, according to three sources familiar with the matter, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the U.S. election.The order, which could impact some of China's biggest companies, including telecoms firms China Telecom Corp Ltd , China Mobile Ltdand surveillance equipment maker Hikvision , could be released as soon as Thursday, t

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Trump administration bans U.S. investments in firms linked to Chinese military

12-11-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting U.S. investments in Chinese firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the U.S. election.The order, which was first reported by Reuters, could impact some of China's biggest companies, including telecoms firms China Telecom Corp Ltd , China Mobile Ltdand surveillance equipment maker Hikvision .The move is designed to deter U.S. investment firms, pensi

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Exclusive: Trump administration readies crackdown on U.S. investments in Chinese firms - sources

12-11-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Trump administration is finalizing an executive order to prohibit U.S. investments in Chinese firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, according to three sources familiar with the matter, in a bid to ramp up pressure on Beijing after the U.S. election.The order, which could impact some of China's biggest companies, including telecoms firms China Telecom Corp Ltd , China Mobile Ltdand surveillance equipment maker Hikvision , could be released as soon as Thur

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Taxpayer-backed NatWest eyes takeover of Sainsbury's Bank

12-11-2020 19:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Taxpayer-backed NatWest is eyeing up a takeover of Sainsbury's Bank in a deal that could mark its biggest takeover since its £45bn rescue during the 2008 financial crisis. Sources told Sky News that the bank, formerly known as RBS, has shown interest in recent weeks but has not yet made a formal offer. It is understood to be among a number of suitors interested in snapping up part or all of the supermarket's banking arm, after it was reported last month that Sainsbury's boss Simon Roberts

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Manchester United quarterly revenue tumbles as ticket sales suffer

12-11-2020 19:51 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The pandemic has played havoc with the sporting calendar, forcing the suspension of English Premier League fixtures for three months, with fans still unable to attend matches.United has failed to win at home in the league this season and had urged the government last month to allow fans back into stadiums, adding it can safely host 23,500 fans at Old Trafford while maintaining social distancing.Manchester United's Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward said on Thursday the health crisis continued t

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Up to 25% of Londoners ‘let down by an online order’ since pandemic broke out, new survey finds

12-11-2020 19:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Nearly a quarter of London consumers shopping online have been let down by an order since the pandemic broke out, a new survey has found.The poll, conducted by retail software company Brightpearl, also found that 37% of shoppers in the capital saw their online purchases take longer to arrive since March.Overall, 34% of the 2,000 Londoners surveyed told researchers their trust in online shopping had decreased as a result of unreliable delivery in the period.

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FCA pursues Gavin Woodhouse's ex-business partner in high court

12-11-2020 19:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

FCA pursues Gavin Woodhouse's ex-business partner in high court. Judge to assess Robin Forster’s alleged links to ‘Ponzi-style’ care home investment schemes

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Switzerland moves to close bribery loophole

12-11-2020 19:09 via bbc.co.uk

Bribes paid to private individuals will stop being tax deductible from 2022, the government said.

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Bank of England 's Bailey says stablecoins do not meet grade for broad use

12-11-2020 19:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he did not think that privately operated digital currencies known as stablecoins were suitable for widespread use or could be trusted as a safe store of value like many traditional currencies."The bar is set very high for private stablecoins, and I don't think they have met that bar," Bailey told a European Central Bank panel discussion, echoing previous scepticism about projects such as Facebook's Libra."It may be that the answer ... is actually a cen

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Is the picture of the UK economy as bleak as it seems?

12-11-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Analysis: There are plenty of reasons for gloom, but the UK might not be doing as badly compared to other countries as the data suggests says Ben Chu

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China Muslims: Volkswagen says 'no forced labour' at Xinjiang plant

12-11-2020 19:01 via bbc.co.uk

The car maker defends continued production in a Chinese region mired in allegations of rights abuses.

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SFO recover £1.2 million from luxury flat owner in oil bribe scandal exposed by UK whistleblower

12-11-2020 18:51 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.2 million from the owner of a £4.25 million luxury London apartment who was at the centre of a bribery scandal exposed by a UK whistleblower trapped in Croatia. Julio Faerman was implicated in Brazil’s “Operation Car Wash” which uncovered systematic bribery to win contracts from the Brazilian state oil company Petrobas. While under investigation by Brazilian prosecutors, Faerman admitted paying bribes to win contracts fo

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Instagram update introduces ‘big’ changes to the way the feed looks

12-11-2020 18:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Instagram has introduced a "big" change to the way its feed looks.The company has added new buttons at the bottom of the screen, intended to highlight its its shopping tab and its Tik Tok-like 'Reels'.Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said that the changes hadn't been taken "lightly", and that it was the first time the home screen had been updated in such a "big way for quite a while".

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Airbnb glitch cancels trips after deactivating user accounts

12-11-2020 18:47 via bbc.co.uk

A system error during "routine maintenance" cancelled bookings for hosts and users.

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FCA boss: 'Significant' number of companies will fail due to COVID

12-11-2020 18:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Nikhi Rathi said some companies regulated by the watchdog would collapse as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

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Volkswagen to set up new motor production line at central Mexico plant

12-11-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

German carmaker Volkswagen AGsaid on Thursday it will invest $233.5 million in a new production line for motors at a existing plant in central Mexico."Volkswagen has found in Guanajuato fertile ground for a new generation of economic development," Steffen Reiche, president of the executive council of Volkswagen's Mexico unit, said in a presentation at the plant in the central state of Guanajuato.

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City regulator warns on three Brexit ‘cliff-edge’ risks

12-11-2020 18:44

UK-EU trade deal may not offset disruption to financial services on January 1, says FCA director

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Bank of England's Bailey hopes for 'goodwill' after Brexit transition ends

12-11-2020 18:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he hoped a spirit of goodwill would prevail between Britain and European Union countries to smooth over inevitable trade disruptions when a post-Brexit transition period ends on Jan. 1.Last week the BoE said many smaller British companies appeared unready for the reintroduction of customs checks in under seven weeks' time, and estimated that border delays were likely to cost Britain 1% of GDP - around 5 billion pounds - in the first three months of nex

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Bank of England 's Bailey hopes for 'goodwill' after Brexit transition ends

12-11-2020 18:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he hoped there would be a "spirit of goodwill" between Britain and European Union countries regarding inevitable trade disruption when a post-Brexit transition period ends on Jan. 1.Bailey told a European Central Bank panel discussion it was encouraging that trade talks were continuing between Britain and the EU, but that he was not in a position to judge the likely outcome, and that some disruption would be unavoidable.Bailey said Britain's financial

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Amazon shifts some voice assistant, face recognition computing to its own chips

12-11-2020 18:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

When users of devices such as Amazon's Echo line of smart speakers ask the voice assistant a question, the query is sent to one of Amazon's data centers for several steps of processing.When Amazon's computers spit out an answer, that reply is in a text format that must be translated into audible speech for the voice assistant.Amazon previously handled that computing using chips from Nvidia but now the "majority" of it will happen using its own "Inferentia" computing chip.

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Scientists spot ‘unexplained brightness’ after violent explosion in space

12-11-2020 18:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Scientists have seen an "unexplained brightness" in the wake of a violent explosion in space.The bright flash is the most intense infrared light from a short gamma-ray burst ever seen.“It’s amazing to me that after 10 years of studying the same type of phenomenon, we can discover unprecedented behavior like this,” said Wen-fai Fong, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University and lead author of the study, in a statement.

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Lee Cain spotted in Whitehall following resignation

12-11-2020 18:36 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Lee Cain has been spotted in Whitehall following his dramatic resignation as the Prime Minister's director of communications. He had been offered the post of chief of staff but a backlash among Tories and Mr Johnson's inner circle ultimately led him on Wednesday to announce his departure from No 10 rather than a promotion. His exit has sparked speculation that he could be followed by Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's top adviser who is seen as the most powerful figure in No 10.

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Questor: vaccine breathes optimism into our Income Portfolio

12-11-2020 18:35 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Prospects for our lives, the economy and the stock market all suddenly brightened on Monday when news of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine emerged – and our Income Portfolio shared in the optimism. The best reaction of all came from Legal & General: shares in the insurer closed on Monday 14pc higher. The strength of this recovery initially surprised Questor because we had always seen L&G; as resilient anyway in the face of the pandemic – a belief supported by its ability to keep pa

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Employees shouldn’t pay to work at home

12-11-2020 18:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Employees shouldn’t pay to work at homeChris Drabble on a suggestion that workers who continue to stay away from the office should pay more tax

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Bank of England eye's 'strong and simple' rules for small lenders

12-11-2020 18:32 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The Bank of England is looking at whether it could introduce a graduated system of "strong and simple" capital rules for smaller lenders and building societies, Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Thursday.Britain's departure from the European Union gives regulators an opportunity to better tailor rules to UK financial firms, though it would be "mad" for this to translate into weaker standards, Woods said.The BoE began last year by introducing simpler rules for credit unions as they don't fall und

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U.N. chief 'encouraged' by development bank climate pledge, urges more

12-11-2020 18:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was "encouraged" by a joint declaration on sustainable finance by the world's development banks, but that more was needed.The world's 450 public development banks agreed on Wednesday to align their lending with the aims of the Paris climate accord, but Guterres said more money should be spent on climate finance and it needed to happen faster.

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Roger Straker obituary

12-11-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

Roger Straker obituary

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FTSE slumps into red as vaccine optimism fades

12-11-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

London’s top flight closed 43.16 points lower at 6,338.94 at the end of trading on Thursday.

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Alastair Marks appointed interim chief executive of British Gymnastics

12-11-2020 18:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

British Gymnastics has appointed Alastair Marks as its new interim chief executive, replacing Jane Allen who will retire from the role in December amid allegations of bullying and abuse within the domestic sport. Marks, who has been a non-executive board member since 2018, has previously held senior roles at the Lawn Tennis Association and the Rugby Football Union, where he was participation director and head of growth respectively. Marks is expected to retain the role through the delayed Tokyo

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Fed, ECB heads give COVID-19 vaccine cautious welcome

12-11-2020 18:25 via uk.finance.yahoo.com

The heads of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank welcomed the encouraging results in trials of a vaccine candidate for the novel coronavirus but stressed that the economic outlook will remain uncertain.Fed chair Jay Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde said the economy was still in for a tough time even if the development of a potential vaccine by U.S. drugmaker Pfizerand German partner BioNTech SEwas reason for some optimism further ahead."From a huge river of uncertainty, w

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