Huge spike in oil prices lifts Shell’s profits and dividend

Shell hikes dividend payout for shareholders by 50% and returns £1.4bn in share buyback as oil prices an profits soar Oil group Royal Dutch Shell will pay 11p a share dividend to shareholders Group also announced bumper share buyback scheme this morning Firm’s share price up 4% as oil prices and group’s profits rise   By … Read more

My 80p bag of crisps shows how inflation creeps up, so fight the spike

SIMON LAMBERT: My 80p bag of crisps shows how inflation creeps up on us, so make sure your money is fighting the spike By Simon Lambert for Thisismoney.co.uk Published: 09:02 BST, 15 July 2021 | Updated: 09:02 BST, 15 July 2021 My mind long ago anchored the price of an ordinary-sized bag of crisps at … Read more

Sudden spike in inflation set to cost average family as much as £700

Think-tank warns that sudden spike in inflation is set to cost the average family as much as £700 By Neil Craven, Financial Mail on Sunday Published: 21:50 BST, 19 June 2021 | Updated: 22:06 BST, 19 June 2021 A sudden spike in inflation is set to cost the average family as much as £700, a … Read more

First-time buyer mortgage rejections spike: Here’s how to boost your chances of being accepted

First-time buyers are more likely to be rejected for a mortgage than they were before the pandemic, a new study has found. Only one in five prospective first-time buyers were able to get a mortgage on their first attempt, according to Aldermore Bank’s annual survey of people who have got on the housing ladder. This … Read more

How Chile’s new Covid spike proves England’s cautious roadmap is the right route out of this crisis

Things are going according to plan. Despite a few wobbles about vanishingly small blood-clot risks, our vaccine rollout charges forward. And tomorrow we will enter the next phase of our roadmap to freedom. But at the Downing Street press conference last Monday, England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty was circumspect. Moving ‘steadily’ was key, he … Read more

Incredible images reveal how cells exposed to AstraZeneca’s vaccine produce the key spike protein

Scientists have produced stunning images showing exactly what happens to the cells of a person who is injected with the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.  Images reveal how the jab forces the injected person’s own cells to make replicas of the real coronavirus spike, a glycoprotein, which sticks out from its surface.  The spikes on the surface … Read more

Traffic-calming measures trigger spike in fire service delays

Emergency service vehicles are being delayed hundreds of times every month because of Sadiq Khan‘s controversial low-traffic zones.  Newly-released data shows The London Fire Brigade was delayed to call outs more than 330 times a month between June and November 2020 – up 18 per cent from the previous year – due to new traffic … Read more

Brace for a post-lockdown spike in burglaries, homeowners warned

Crimestoppers has warned homeowners to prepare for a potential surge in burglaries once lockdown ends. There was a 20 per cent drop in house burglaries last year compared to 2019, analysis of government crime figures revealed. But there are fears the numbers could quickly climb as restrictions ease and people begin spending more time away … Read more

Experts urge more Americans to get shots amid fears of another COVID spike

Public health experts say the U.S. is currently in a race between vaccinating the population against the coronavirus and a surge in cases following spring break. On Wednesday, the U.S. recorded 58,480 new infections, a 16 percent drop over the last month, and 1,173 deaths.     However, over the last week or so, seven-day rolling averages … Read more

Officials at Queen’s rural retreat fear Lady Gaga-style snatch of her corgis after spike in thefts 

Dog-nappers off the leash at Sandringham: Officials at Queen’s rural retreat fear Lady Gaga-style snatch of her corgis after spike in local thefts Animal lovers walking dogs in Sandringham have been warned of dognappers The estate has been private home of four generations of royals since 1862 Facebook page warned of ‘dog thieves are currently … Read more