International News

Boris Johnson has said that he is "immensely proud to lead a government that is so comprehensively committed” to supporting the tech sector, as a major new report highlighted the soaring levels of capital tech firms are raising for London IPOs. Tech Nation, a growth platform for tech companies and leaders that has seen start-ups including Monzo through from very early stage, released its annual report on the state of the sector on Tuesday. The report found tech firms raised twice as mu...

The government will offer incentives to lenders, bringing back 95% mortgages which have "virtually disappeared" during the pandemic, the Treasury says. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says public finances are facing a "challenge" from the pandemic's impact on the economy. The government has borrowed £271bn this financial year - up £222bn on 2019-20. This has pushed the national debt to £2.13 trillion. Explaining the government's economic response to the pandemic, Mr ...

Rishi Sunak is preparing to extend the stamp duty holiday by three months until the end of June in an attempt to keep the property market firing as Britain emerges from lockdown. In July last year the government exempted most buyers from the levy if they completed their purchase before March 31, 2021. The holiday enables people to save up to £15,000 in tax. The chancellor has faced pressure to extend the deadline amid concerns that it would create a “cliff-edge”, jeopardisin...

The Pound-to-Euro exchange rate took the market by storm having risen to nine-month peaks last week but could continue steamrolling higher into month-end, leading to a test of 1.17 in the process, as the UK economic backdrop brightens and Sterling proves popular among central bank reserve managers. Pound Sterling was the best performing major currency again last week despite already having advanced strongly in February against all nine of its largest counterparts, as the British currency con...

“Extend the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months after 31st March 2021”, a petition which was started at the end of October, has been thrashed out in an online debate this afternoon after securing enough signatures for it to be considered by the government. The virtual 90-minute debate, which kicked off at 4.30 pm, saw the Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, financial secretary to the Treasury, responding for the government after calls were made to extend the current stamp duty break...

Gung Hei Fat Choy! Celebrations for Chinese New Year in London is one of the largest cultural celebrations in the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on the West End to enjoy a colourful parade, Dragon dance, stage performances and traditional Chinese food. This year, people can celebrate the Year of the Ox safely from home. Click the link now and join the online celebrations!...

Covid appears to be in freefall in London now, with 27 out of 32 boroughs seeing daily cases tumble by a third or more in a week. In Greenwich, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, the number of positive tests has almost halved in seven days. The rate per 100,000 population, which peaked at 1,118 at the start of lockdown, has now been squeezed to 332 in the most recent data from Public Health England. However, health experts warned that the deadly wave is far from over yet, with 2,765 new positive ...

On Monday February 1, following Brexit, the United Kingdom applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) bloc. CPTPP is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The eleven countries' combined economies represented 13.4 percent of the global gross domestic product (approximately US$13.5 trillion). This will definitely help strengthen UK economics, £Pounds will als...