1. New Modern Covid-19 jab is five times more effective than its previous vaccine
Great news but will it be five times more expensive?
2. What’s the big idea, Boris?
The government is proposing a right-to-buy scheme for housing association tenants, where a new home will be built for every one sold off and mortgage lending rules will be loosened. Perhaps 42 years late but let’s not quibble.
3. Spotify to lower the boom on Audioboom
The streaming service Spotify said it would expand its audiobooks and “other verticals” to capture some of the massive growth in ad spending on podcasts.
4. Blitzkrieg bop for AO World
Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones is the song used by AO World in its advert. It is now a case of “Hey, ho, let’s go!” and leave Germany for the electricals retailer as it is to close down its ill-starred German operations.
5. FTSE 100 flounders on growing worries about rising interest rates
The European Central Bank finally bent with the wind and revealed it would raise its own rates next month, albeit by 25 basis points which was less than some had expected. Footsie finished down over 116 points, or 1.54%, at 7,476.