Boris Johnson will not be prepared to risk his prospects of re-election by returning to austerity in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, in spite of the Conservative Party’s “ideology”, a leading fund manager has declared.
James Anderson, joint manager of the £10 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, highlighted his belief that one major thing that had changed with the coronavirus crisis was that governments around the world would no longer be able to say they were unable to borrow money and go back to austerity.
Referring to the Prime Minister and his adviser Dominic Cummings, Mr Anderson added: “Do I believe Boris Johnson and his lovely adviser are going to be prepared to risk not being re-elected by clamping down on public expenditure? I don’t.”
Major boost for Glasgow market as developer defies Covid
Developers are pressing ahead with plans for a 200,000 square foot office block on Glasgow’s Clydeside, dismissing claims the coronavirus pandemic will spell the “death” of the office market as “overstated”.
READ MORE: Major boost for Glasgow market as developer defies Covid to press on with giant office building
London-based Soller Group has submitted a detailed planning application for the proposed Carrick Square building, hailed as a lynch-pin of ambitions to revitalise the Broomielaw area bordering the International Financial Services District.
Dundee refill shop sees sales surge
A refill shop founded by a chartered accountant who wanted to help people reduce waste has recorded a surge in sales after moving into home delivery amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Love Your Planet has seen demand for essentials such as pasta, rice and flour surge as people have taken to cooking and baking more while staying at home.
READ MORE: Dundee refill shop sees sales surge after home delivery move
Also this week, data analytics specialist Bellrock Technology has doubled its headcount following a £1 million fundraising to underpin its expansion into new sectors. The fresh capital injection from its three existing investors coincides with the appointment of tech industry veteran Steve Langmead, who takes over as chairman from David Sigsworth.
Staff at the Kimpton Blythswood Square and Grand Central hotels in Glasgow have been told they are at risk of redundancy. Parent company InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said employees at its Kimpton Charlotte Square, InterContinental The George and Crowne Plaza properties in Edinburgh had also been told they were at risk of redundancy.
Scotland could lose out to Norway or another country in the race to launch Europe’s first spaceport unless planning permission is granted soon for the proposed Space Hub Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, a key partner in the project is warning. Orbex, the Forres-headquartered aerospace company, is due to launch its Prime rocket from the proposed £17.3 million facility, but says other countries are moving faster than Scotland.
A Scottish fintech start-up is set to increase its headcount by a third following a successful six-figure seed funding round. The newly-rebranded Aveni, previously known at Hatch-AI, has raised £520,000 ahead of the launch of its Aveni Connect technology for the financial and legal sectors. The product is designed to take video conferencing to the next level as the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in the use of services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
And finally...
Ian McConnell: Will anything make Johnson and Co. stop Brexit folly in its tracks?
Scott Wright: Time running out to save summer for Scotland's crisis-hit tourism sector
Mark Williamson: Could spending on renewables fuel recovery?
Kristy Dorsey: Why Covid-19 has waged war on gender pay gap progress
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