Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock exchange. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
LONDON (REUTERS) – British health minister Matt Hancock rejected allegations by a former top aide of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying there was never a national shortage of protective equipment and the government followed clinical guidance on care homes. Mr Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings last month said Mr Hancock had repeatedly lied in government meetings on Covid-19, and called for him to be sacked. Mr Hancock denied the allegations made by Mr Cummings and noted he had not provided evidence for his claims. “What I did and what my team did was what we believed to be the best thing we could on the information that we had to protect lives,” Mr Hancock told a parliamentary select committee hearing on Thursday (June 10), adding he had never told Mr Johnson anything he knew to be untrue. “Despite my deep regret at the deaths that have occurred, I know that I did that with the right motive of being straight with people throughout.” Over 127,000 people have died in Britain within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, and Cummings said the government’s inept handling of the pandemic led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
The Stripe logo pictured on a smartphone with U.S. dollar banknotes in in the background.Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty ImagesLONDON — Stripe on Thursday debuted a new product that it says will make it easier for businesses to calculate and collect sales taxes, marking the digital payment giant’s latest push into other areas of finance.The service, called Stripe Tax, will automate the calculation and collection of sales tax, value-added tax and goods and services tax for transactions made through Stripe’s platform. British newspaper publisher News UK and Dutch start-up Routetitan are among those already using the service.Matt Henderson, Stripe’s EMEA lead, said working out how much sales tax needs to be paid on certain transactions can be a complex process, with rules varying across different countries. In the U.S., there are over 11,000 different sales tax jurisdictions, “often the size of a small town,” Henderson told CNBC.”There’s a lot of different variables that go into determining what’s the right rate and when is it due for collection and payment,” he added. “In Germany, for example, a pet rabbit is 19% VAT and a pet guinea pig is 7% VAT, whereas in the U.K. or Ireland you
(RTTNews) – Ireland’s consumer price inflation rose in May, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Thursday. The consumer price index increased 1.7 percent year-on-year in May, following a 1.1 percent rise in April. Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels grew 5.4 percent yearly in May and those of transport increased 3.6 percent. Prices for restaurants and hotels, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco gained by 2.9 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in May, after a 0.7 percent increase in the prior month. The EU measure of inflation, the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose 1.9 percent annually in May, following a 1.1 percent increase in the preceding month. On a monthly basis, the HICP increased 0.2 percent in May, after a 0.6 percent rise in the previous month.
After a year of record price declines, lease signings are up and landlords are pulling back on rent concessions.After months of record price cuts and concessions, New York City’s rental market appears to be turning the corner, but it could be at least a year before prices return to their pre-Covid peak, according to two new reports.In May, the median rent in Manhattan, including concessions, was $3,037 a month, up 8.8 percent from the previous month — the biggest monthly increase in nearly a decade, according to the brokerage Douglas Elliman. Even with the sharp increase, the price was still 11.1 percent below the median rent a year earlier, and 14 percent below the recent peak, when median rent reached $3,540 in April 2020.While the warmer months tend to see increased activity, the rise suggests more than a seasonal upswing, said Jonathan J. Miller, a real estate appraiser and the author of the report. There were 9,491 leases signed in May, breaking the record set just one month prior for the most signings since 2008.“The market, with all this new leasing activity, is beginning to stabilize,” Mr. Miller said. “It’s finding a bottom.”The same is true in Brooklyn and Queens,
A view of the driveway leading to the residence at 777 Sarbonne Road in Bel-Air, California.Joe Bryant / Aaron Kirman GroupSeven is a magical number for one of Bel-Air’s priciest spec homes.The glass and marble palace located at 777 Sarbonne Road in Los Angeles hit the market last month with an asking price of $87,777,777.The triple sevens in its address and price tag are just the beginning. Many of the home’s architectural details were designed in measurements that are multiples of seven.A black marble walkway leads to the home’s 14-foot glass front door.Joe Bryant / Aaron Kirman GroupThere’s a giant front door made of glass that stands 14 feet tall and the ceilings in the massive living room are 21 feet high. At the end of the driveway, three oversized sevens measure 7-feet, 7-inches tall.Giant brass sevens at the end of the driveway are 7 feet, 7 inches tall.CNBCThe seven-bedroom, 11-bath residence is owned by cosmetic surgeon Dr. Alex Khadavi.”Seven is a number and theme that has affected me in every important aspect of my life,” Khadavi said in an interview, “from the age I came to America, to the floor level of my condominium.”Khadavi, who came to the United States
Washington Report Ep 1: Analysing G-7’s backing of global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% 10:37 mins Synopsis: Every Monday, The Straits Times’ US Bureau Chief, Nirmal Ghosh, analyses the latest developments in the country he is based in, with Money FM 89.3’s Timothy Go. They chat about the following: 1. How the Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations’ proposed global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% works, and which big companies are likely to be affected (1:35) 2. US Department of Justice (DOJ) will no longer seize journalist’s records in leak investigations (4:21) 3. President Joe Biden defends the stand of top Covid-19 adviser – Dr. Anthony Fauci – on the claimed Wuhan lab leak of the coronavirus (7:10) 4. Analysing former US President Donald Trump’s speech in the North Carolina Republican Convention (8:42) Produced by: The Breakfast Huddle, Money FM 89.3, Ernest Luis & Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Dan Koh Subscribe to our Asian Insider Podcast channel to follow our various shows each week and rate us on your favourite audio apps: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/Ju4h Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Nirmal Ghosh’s stories: https://www.straitstimes.com/authors/nirmal-ghosh Asian
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