Annie baileys

TOKYO: The British pound lost about 0.5 per cent on Thursday (Dec 10) after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed they have until Sunday to take a "firm decision" about the future of trade talks. The European Commission and Britain remained "far apart" on Brexit trade deal, the bloc's chief executive said after what she described as a "lively" dinner with the British prime minister. "It looks like there won't be any agreement to present to the EU summit starting today. Markets have been quite optimistic about a deal. I'm a bit surprised," said Ayako Sera, senior market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned a no-deal Brexit would cause longer-term damage to Britain's economy than the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the change might be felt for decades. The British pound dropped to as low as US$1.3311 and last stood at US$1.3345, down 0.4 per cent on the day, … [Read more...] about Pound drops as Brexit impasse unsettled after Johnson-von der Leyen meeting

As abruptly as Amazon announced in September that it was hunting for a place to build a second full-sized headquarters, the Seattle conglomerate on Thursday announced 20 cities that made it to the next level, including Denver. The city was one of 238 proposals submitted to Amazon, which said it would invest $5 billion to build a second campus in North America. It needed a future site that could house around 50,000 employees in about 8 million square feet — the size of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. “We are absolutely excited to have made the shortlist. The work continues,” said Sam Bailey, who oversaw the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.’s effort. Bailey said that Amazon’s economic development team notified his staff early Thursday morning. “The email was four sentences, thanking us for the submission, discussing the next steps and a focus on learning about the community, the talent and potential real estate,” Bailey said. He expects to begin discussions with … [Read more...] about Denver makes Amazon’s HQ2 finalist list — along with 19 other cities

There were no promises to create a Colorado city called Amazon. There were no bribes from the state like the 21-foot cactus an Arizona city sent to get the massive retailer to build a second headquarters there. And there was no way Colorado was going to touch one state’s lavish offer of $7 billion in public incentives. Colorado, which doesn’t plan to ask taxpayers for more funding to lure Amazon, on Wednesday submitted a more subdued proposal that state officials hope will attract a new employer and bring up to 50,000 jobs to the Denver region. The state emailed the official bid a day before Amazon’s deadline, as well as mailed five paper copies overnight to the Seattle retailer’s headquarters. “Colorado’s proposal does not lead with incentives. It leads with talent,” said Sam Bailey, who led the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. in working with the state to submit the official bid. “Ultimately, 50,000 jobs shouldn’t be led with incentives but a community that has the … [Read more...] about No bribes or cities named “Amazon”: Colorado’s pitch to get the next headquarters touts incentives that could exceed $100M

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen moved up to second in the Bundesliga and closed the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to one point after a pair of goals from set pieces and a Patrik Schick effort gave them a 3-0 win at bottom team Schalke 04 on Sunday. Levekusen have 22 points from 10 games, just behind Bayern who were held in Saturday's rip-roaring 3-3 home draw with third-placed RB Leipzig, who are two points off top. Schalke, who extended their winless league run to 26 games, are rooted to the foot of the table on three points. Schalke keeper Michael Langer pulled off a string of superb saves but the porous defence in front of him could not keep the visitors at bay. Schalke's miserable afternoon was compounded by a penalty miss as Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky saved Steven Skrzybski’s spot-kick and Benito Raman’s follow-up header. Under pressure from visiting defender Aleksandar Dragovic, Malick Thiaw beat his own keeper in the 10th minute to put Leverkusen in … [Read more...] about Leverkusen close in on Bayern after 3-0 win at Schalke

Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Liu Tian, Mao Pengfei HONG KONG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- While the bulk of limited stocks of COVID-19 vaccines are being hoarded by wealthy countries, most of the world's population, who live in developing countries, are being left defenseless in the face of the deadly pathogen. Fighting the pandemic is a common war involving all humanity. The billions of people who will not be inoculated soon due to the uneven distribution of vaccines are exposing the Achilles' heel of global anti-COVID efforts. LOPSIDED VACCINE DISTRIBUTION Junaid Iqbal, a 29-year-old young doctor, joined a field hospital last year in northern Pakistan's Gilgit to fight the pandemic and his battle has lasted for almost one year. "Never in my life had I wished to be vaccinated and immune from the virus like I did in the hardest of those days," Iqbal told Xinhua, recalling the time when his mother was infected with the virus at home, but he couldn't go back to look … [Read more...] about World Insights: Vaccine nationalism threatens to derail global anti-COVID fight