Business productivity

A BUSY mom-of-four revealed her top four tips to keep her kitchen organized. The ideas are perfect for hectic mornings, and she said they help keep her kitchen de-cluttered. The tips were shared on TikTok by mom Shannon Doherty , who frequently shares life hacks and home ideas with her more than 600,000 followers. For the first hack , Shannon revealed she keeps a shoe organizer in her pantry. It "urns into an instant pantry for space," she said, as she revealed she stashes snacks in the pockets for her kids to grab. Next, she revealed she has a "self-serve" area in the fridge for her kids. With things like carrots, cheese, clementines and more stored in the door, she said she keeps it full of healthy snacks. "Number three, snack containers , easy-to-pour in your cabinets," Shannon said in her next organization tip. The mom showed she keeps self-pour containers full of some of her kids' favorite snacks – like popcorn and chips. Lastly, the mom revealed … [Read more...] about Busy mom-of-four reveals top four tips to keep her kitchen organized – and the ideas are perfect for hectic mornings

Halfords has announced it will pay back £10.7m in furlough scheme cash to the government after enjoying better than expected sales at the start of this year. The cycling and car parts business said trading remained "volatile" and hard to predict as lockdowns continued but told investors it now expects full-year profits could nearly double. The Treasury has spent tens of billions of pounds supporting the wages of workers temporarily laid off due to the coronavirus crisis, though retailers that have been allowed to remain open during lockdowns have come under pressure to give money back. Where jobs have been lost across the UK economy Halfords has benefited from a boom in demand for cycling products as people are forced to stay at home but the restrictions have weighed on its car business. In its latest update the retailer said it "continued to experience a volatile trading environment" in the seven weeks to 19 February but that overall sales had been … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Halfords to pay back furlough cash as cycling sales surge

Britain's biggest lenders will this week unveil proposals for a not-for-profit company to oversee the industry's attempt to bolster competition through a system known as 'open banking'. Sky News has learnt that UK Finance, the sector's principal trade association, will publish a report on Tuesday setting out its plans to comply with a series of requirements imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) five years ago. City sources said the report would be an important step towards entrenching open banking as a permanent feature of the industry landscape. Known as the CMA9, banks including Barclays , HSBC and NatWest Group were the subject of a CMA order in 2016 following an investigation into the personal current account and SME banking markets. The watchdog concluded that the UK's biggest banks were not competing hard enough for customers' business and that open banking "should deliver a new, secure option for customers". Advertisement … [Read more...] about UK’s biggest lenders to unveil plans for ‘open banking’ rollout

In the southern Spanish city of Seville, the municipal water company has introduced a pilot scheme to produce electricity using methane from fermented oranges. EMASESA, a member of Aqua Publica Europea (European Association of Public Water Operators), aims to achieve energy self-sufficiency for its EDAR Copero Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in the city, an existing facility that already generates electricity from organic matter. The plan is to put surplus electricity into the grid by 2023. "The project started as a result of EMASESA's interest in achieving energy self-sufficiency in the urban wastewater treatment process," the company's CEO, Jaime Palop, told DW. EMASESA aims to achieve energy self-sufficiency at its EDAR Copero wastewater treatment plant Oranges not only fruit In this way, facilities such as the Copero WWTP, which consumed around 13 GWh/year in 2020, achieved levels of self-sufficiency close to 95%, the CEO said.  "The Copero WWTP, due to its … [Read more...] about Spain: Why Seville oranges are the new green

The business secretary has told MPs he is "very hopeful" of a deal with Vauxhall's parent company to secure the future of the Ellesmere Port factory. It is feared that owner Stellantis will shut the plant when production of the latest Astra models is due to end later this year, without firm commitments from the government. The UK's decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 is a key factor in the investment decision for Stellantis as it means Ellesmere Port, which employs more than 1,000 people directly and supports thousands more in the supply chain, must produce electric vehicles. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Vauxhall: Electric cars a tough sell for consumers The plant's future is also complicated by Brexit as the company is worried about a current lack of battery production in the UK. The EU 's trade deal with the country demands local provision of parts, under so-called 'rules of … [Read more...] about Vauxhall plant in the balance: Kwarteng ‘very hopeful’ of Ellesmere Port deal