Royal London Institute of Business

Garden furniture shortage no picnic for retailers!
People hoping to spruce up their gardens, ready for when we can socialise in them again, may face problems with their seating plans due to a lack of outdoor furniture.
A combination of high demand and shipping problems is being blamed for the shortages.
Furniture giant Ikea is among the retailers experiencing supply issues.
Companies say that shipping costs to import goods from countries such as China have risen dramatically.
The Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association, which represents 70 manufacturers and wholesalers, said all of its members are having problems with garden furniture supply.
Gina Hinde from the association said that last year its members were being charged about $1,200 to get a container over from China and Indonesia. This year, they're being charged anywhere between $7,000 and $10,000.
"Some have even been quoted up to $17,000 to bring one container over," she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money programme.

This Mother's Day many of us won't be able to give our mum the usual lunch out or cuddle with her grandchildren. But at least if you live nearby there's the hope that the vaccine roll out will allow meetings in the park or garden soon. But for those with family abroad, the wait is likely to be much longer.
International travel from the UK is still illegal in most circumstances. The UK government has said international travel will be possible from England from 17th May at the earliest. But Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to set a date.
But then it is up to the government of the country you're travelling to, whether you'll be let in.
Jamaica's tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, is hopeful that that things will open up again soon.
"Firstly make sure you get your vaccine,' said Mr Bartlett.
"We are doing the same over here. We are going to be in a position, with all the faith I have, to be able to invite all the family and friends and guests to Jamaica, certainly by the summer.
"We want you to come, but we want you to observe protocols."
'I'm stuck here'
Khurram Masood's parents Tariq Masood and Shaheena Tariq

When will I be able to see my mum?
You might be fed up that your family can't get together on Mother's Day, but spare a thought for Sharon Carter.
She hasn't seen her mother since October 2019.
Her mother is in Jamaica, one of many countries that closed its borders to the UK to stop the spread of the UK variant of coronavirus. Direct flights are still currently banned.
"It's worrying because she's on her own," says Sharon.
"She puts a brave face on it, but she's isolating at home. It's a lonely existence, only going shopping, for a year."
"At least when we go out there you can see how well she's doing or not. You miss the physical contact and time spent together.

In February, Elon Musk revealed that his electric carmaker Tesla had bought $1.5bn worth of Bitcoin and would be accepting it as payment for its cars in future.
Mastercard also plans to accept certain cryptocurrencies as a form of payment while BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is exploring ways it can use the digital currency.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also played its part in Bitcoin's price rise, as more people go online for shopping, moving further away from physical coins and notes.
Critics argue Bitcoin is less of a currency and more of a speculative trading tool that is open to market manipulation.
There is also concern over its environmental impact, with huge amounts of energy needed to conduct transactions.

Bitcoin surges past $60,000 for first time!!
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen for the first time above $60,000 (£43,100), continuing its record-breaking run.
Bitcoin - which has more than tripled in value since the end of last year - has been powered on by well-known companies adopting it as a method of payment.
But some analysts said this latest surge came in part due to the huge US stimulus package approved this week.
Bitcoin's total market value last month exceeded $1tn.
However, Bitcoin has a track record of wild price swings and has fallen sharply a number of times since it was created in 2009.
The recent spikes have been fuelled by big companies

The deterioration in US-China ties is taking place against the backdrop of the pandemic and a backlash against globalisation, an economic trend that has helped Singapore become one of the richest countries in Asia.
Prime Minister Lee believes globalisation still has much going for it, especially given the need to cooperate on vaccines.
"You cannot avoid working with one another because to go back to where you were... lies poverty and despair and probably instability and conflict," he said.
Post-pandemic travel
Closer to home, one of the key priorities for Singapore is to open borders and find a way for tourists to return to the trade and travel-dependent nation.
The prime minister suggested vaccination passports could be part of that process but warned it would be some time before international travel returned to pre-pandemic levels.
"It will not be like before where you can just buy a ticket, hop onto the plane and go off to Hong Kong, Bangkok or Bali for a weekend or a casual holiday," he said.
"Hopefully by the end of this year or next year the doors can start to open, if not earlier."

"The US is still number one but number two [China] is not so far behind," he said. "That is what is difficult for the US to accept."
By some estimates, the Chinese economy is slated to overtake the US to become the world's largest by 2028, five years earlier than previously forecast.
China's remarkable economic rise has in recent years been accompanied by increasing aggression both internally and externally under leader Xi Jinping.
China's rise
That has led to condemnation of its actions by many in the West and concern among some partners in Asia.
Despite this, Prime Minister Lee said Singapore could not afford to take sides.
"It is a problem for many countries, which is why we are all hoping and encouraging the two large powers to think very carefully before deciding that the other one is an adversary which has to be kept down, if not put down," he said.
"What we would like to see is China being a country where its prosperity, development and growing strength is welcomed by other countries in the world, who see this as an opportunity for them to prosper together and live in a stable world together."

US-China trade war
The bitter trade war between the two superpowers over the last two years has threatened this delicate balance.
It started during former US President Donald Trump's time in office, but there's been no indication that newly-elected President Joe Biden will take a softer approach with China.
Prime Minister Lee said he hoped the new American leader would be someone who "believes in multilateralism and international trade".
He also addressed the tussle for global dominance between the two.

"I do not think that is in China's interest."
The Singaporean leader's views on the US-China relationship are often sought, as the tiny island nation plays an outsized role economically and in terms of political influence in the region.
The US is a major security partner for the city state and is also the biggest investor in Singapore, far out-stripping any other country's contribution.
Meanwhile, China is Singapore's largest export market and, like much of Asia, Singapore's economy has benefited from China's rise.

Singapore PM: 'Considerable risk' of severe US-China tensions
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has told the BBC that a clash between the US and China is more likely than it was five years ago.
However, he maintained that the odds of military conflict are "not yet high".
The prime minister said if both nations continue to take a hard line because of domestic considerations, they could easily find themselves at an impasse.
The Biden administration will hold its first high-level talks with Chinese officials in Alaska next week.
Mr Lee was reluctant to give advice to China but noted its political direction had sparked tensions with nations big and small.
"There is significant uncertainty [and] anxiety over which way China is going and whether this will be good for them," he told BBC World News' Talking Business Asia programme.

However Jack Ma has attracted controversy in China, criticising the state-dominated banking sector, and the company is in the cross-hairs of regulators, eager to bring it into line with more traditional banks and lenders, and to contain its market dominance.
Late last year the Chinese authorities blocked Ant Group's planned initial public offering (IPO) in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Ant Group executives were told to restructure the company's operations to turn it into a holding company and to comply with stricter financial regulations.
Ant Group, formerly known by the name of its payments app Alipay, is affiliated with Alibaba, and like the Chinese trading platform has expanded its services outside its home country, including in Europe and the United States.

Ant Group boss Simon Hu steps down in restructuring
The chief executive of China's Ant Group has stepped down "for personal reasons" as the online payment giant undergoes a restructuring.
Simon Hu will be replaced by executive chairman Eric Jing, the company said.
Ant is controlled by billionaire Jack Ma who first made his name through the trading platform Alibaba.
The firm has come under intense regulatory pressure and was forced to drop its planned $37bn public share sale last year.
Ant Group is China's biggest payments provider, with more than 730 million monthly users on its digital payments service Alipay.
But it also acts as a marketplace for loans. It takes a fee to match borrowers with banks, who then take on the risk.
It also offers savings accounts and insurance, all through its mobile phone app