It seems in recent years the images and thoughts we associate with Boeing Airplanes are of unexplained crashes and tragedies. This week, two weeks after another Boeing 737 plane crash, the focus is on the company’s new environmental pledge and the news that the EU has confirmed it will allow Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft line to resume flight following an almost 2-year ban of the planes.

Return of the 737 MAX

Over the last 3 years, there has been 2 major plane crashes reported that featured a Boeing 737 MAX as the aircraft in use. These tragedies resulted in the Boeing 737 MAX being grounded for nearly 2-years and opened the market further to Boeing’s competitors. The EU is set to join the US and other countries in resuming deliveries of 737 MAXs. Combined with an increase in air travel following the worldwide distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines, Boeing could make a solid recovery following a horrendous financial year.

The Covid-19 effect

Like many other companies, the global pandemic caused mass disruption for Boeing. 2020 saw the worst recorded quarter ever for the aerospace industry and for Boeing this was no different. In Q3 of 2020 Boeing saw their profits come in at £715 million, compared to the £877 million profit in Q3 of 2019, resulting in a loss of more than £162 million. There have been reports over the last couple of months of mass redundancies at Boeing, with the company itself reporting expected losses of 30,000 jobs.

Here comes Airbus

This stress is not shared by one of Boeing’s main competitors, Airbus. In 2020, Airbus delivered 566 aircraft, 6 more than its original target. Their narrowbodies range of A320s and A220s were their best sellers, accounting for 484 of the aircraft they sold. In comparison, Boeing only delivered 157 aircraft for 2020, their worst recorded year since 1977. This was in part due to their focus on delivering cargo aircraft and ignoring the industry demand for narrowbodies. The continued controversy over the 737 Max saw over 640 aircraft orders cancelled.

The Tariff Dispute

But it’s not just in sales figures that animosity lies between these two aerospace giants. Currently Airbus and Boeing are in the midst of a heated dispute over tariffs. In fact, the issue has gotten so serious, the US government and the EU have had to enforce tariff-based countermeasures on both companies. Resulting in tariffs of 15% for both Airbus and Boeing.

The Green Future

Elsewhere Boeing is looking to the future. Earlier this week Boeing announced they will start selling planes that can be run on 100% biofuel by 2030. This new initiative is part of the broader aerospace industry’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2050. Currently, commercial flying makes up 2% of global carbon emissions and 12% of transport emissions. This goal is not unrealistic as Boeing has some experience in the renewable energy sector. In 2018 Boeing produced the world’s first commercial flight using 100% biofuel for a FedEx Corp 777 freighter.

Will Boeing Bounce Back?

There is no clear answer to this. The return of the 737 Max to markets will help bolster Boeing’s sales. As will the worldwide distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. More people flying will equal more aircrafts needed and therefore more sales. However, vaccine distribution is a slow process and whilst it indicates a return to normality, that normality is still far away. For Boeing, they will have to be patient in 2021 and hope their patience pays off.

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There were many names we learnt in 2020; COVID-19, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, to name a few. But one of those new names was Zoom. Now firmly in the zeitgeist for one of the most infamous years in modern history, it is a far cry from Zoom’s humble beginnings. The app went from 2.2 million users at the beginning of 2020 to ending the year with more than 477 million downloads and being the fifth most popular app of the year. Having just announced they want to raise $1.5 billion through their largest stock offering to date, amid growing concerns over Zoom’s relevance in a post-COVID-19 world, how viable is this offering?

Since the invention of webcams, video calls have been common. Initially used for calls to relatives abroad, they now rule the business world, due in part, to the increased globalisation of companies. This reliance on video calls has changed over the last year as more employees have started to work from home. In 2020 in the UK around 50% of all workers in the UK did some form of work from home, 86% of those people reported to the government that it was due to the global pandemic.

Zoom Inc. utilised this shift in working conditions. They offered to the market a unique proposition. Users of Zoom could have 40-minute video chats of up to 100 people for free. None of their competitors had anything close to this. For example, Skype only allowed 20 people per call. During the beginning of the pandemic as the US announced a national state of emergency Zoom Inc. lifted the 40-minute time limit on calls for all schools, securing the education sector.

The app is not without its faults. Zoom has faced criticism for its security and privacy. Issues with hackers, “Zoombombing” and users’ credentials being exposed are all common on the app. In November 2020 Zoom announced they would be launching a new security system to eliminate these problems. Concerns over third party data sharing and issues with video encryptions have tainted the companies otherwise a meteoric success.

This success was indicated in the company’s first public offering in 2019, where they raised $447.9 million in net proceeds. In November 2020, the company recorded $772.2 million in quarterly sales, not bad for a company that was founded in 2011 and didn’t have its first IPO until April 2019. However, this changed dramatically in December 2020 when Zoom’s stock fell by almost 30% after the announcement of vaccines being approved for distribution. Inevitably this means a reduction in the use of video conferencing software as people return to office life and pre-pandemic normality returns.

The other concern for Zoom is their competitors have now caught up. Microsoft Teams and Google Hangout have both gone through revamps to be more user friendly. They have increased the number of people allowed per video call for free. Microsoft Teams has the advantage of being a part of the wider Microsoft Office service and for companies who have purchased Microsoft Office, Teams comes as a part of that package. This combined with businesses cutting costs due to the recession means Zoom is no longer a necessity.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan does not appear to be concerned. He has stated that he believes virtual meetings will continue at a popular rate and more people will remain working from home instead of returning to their offices. Yuan has stated that he is now concentrating on enhancing Zoom experiences using AI and improving security issues. This is an optimistic outlook and one that should be expected of the CEO however Zoom’s stocks plummeting following the announcement of the Pfizer vaccine and concerns over market saturation indicate we could be witnessing the decline of Zoom.

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Back in September Boris Johnson’s speech to the UN on the UK’s green energy plans was paid little attention. This was mainly due to the total media dominance of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with vaccines being distributed and a general feeling that a return to normality is not too far away, other issues are picking up momentum again. This includes arguably the biggest issue outside of the pandemic, climate change and the pursuit of renewable energies. In his speech, Johnson stated that he planned to turn the UK into the “Saudi Arabia of wind power.” With the news that the world’s largest wind farm is to be built in 2023 off the coast of Yorkshire, it seems this goal could be achievable.

The comparison to Saudi Arabia is interesting as they are the world leader in the production of oil. With 90 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s exports and 75 per cent of their government revenue coming from their oil industry. Totalling 45 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product. Offshore wind is yet to produce these kinds of numbers for the UK however this could soon change. Currently, the UK is the world leader in offshore wind energy, producing more energy from wind power than coal. In Scotland, they are able to power every home and business with renewable energies alone, making fossil fuels obsolete.

Elsewhere in the world renewable energies are a primary focus. Iceland is the world leader, with almost 100 per cent of electricity consumed from renewable energy sources. They also use geothermal energy to heat 9 out of 10 houses and for other services such as melting snow from pavements and food production. Norway also produces 98 per cent of the energy they consume from renewable sources. Whilst wind and thermal energy are used there, hydropower is the most popular source.

The other main contenders for the top spot in renewable energy production are Germany and China, both leaders in their respective fields. Germany is number one for Solar energy production, whilst China leads in onshore wind energy production. China has stated they are aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060, with a heavy focus on further developing their offshore wind sources, leading experts to predict China will become the world leader of all wind energy in the next 10 years.

The UK government is determined to prove this prediction wrong. It has been confirmed that in 2023 work will start on the world’s largest floating wind farm, Dogger Bank. This wind farm will not only produce wind energy but will also utilise hydrogen and carbon capture technology. The use of hydrogen as an energy source could bolster the UK’s ambitious aims. Hydrogen capture has some of the lowest carbon emissions, as it only produces water. It can be converted cheaply from natural gas. ‘Blue’ hydrogen can reach the high temperatures needed for power stations and furnaces. Solving the issue of having to use fossil fuels as a backup when renewable energy sources, such as wind power, fail to work due to poor weather conditions.

This technology is being used in Norway and an initiative called Zero Carbon Humber is set to bring this renewable energy source to the UK. The Prime Minister has stated that he wants to use this technology to power transportation devices that cannot be moved by electric batteries. These initiatives combined with the UK’s plans to further expand its use of offshore wind could lead them to become the “Saudi Arabia of wind” as Mr Johnson predicted. However, with other countries such as China, already leading in onshore wind and rapidly developing their offshore wind sources, it may mean that the UK could see wind power becoming its main economic export without being the world leader in it. As most of these renewable-energy plans are still in their earlier stages, only time will tell if they come to fruition.

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Streaming services have become a key part of daily life, they provide endless escapism for many, a crucial part of coping through the lockdowns and tier restrictions. The UK has just entered its third national lockdown and the reliance on streaming platforms has never been so prevalent. Over the next month, UK Netflix subscribers are set to receive notice of a price increase to their monthly subscriptions. This would appear to be in part due to having an audience eager for content and the rapid growth of new competitors- who are Netflix’s big competitors?

Amazon Prime Video currently boasts the streaming service most like traditional TV packages (such as Sky), with its own streaming service including entertainment programmes and sports matches. It also has more than 70 other channels that can be added for additional subscriptions. Amazon confirmed a deal with Sky in March last year which saw Prime Video appear on Sky’s service Sky Q and Now TV in December 2020. The deal also includes Now TV being added to Amazon’s Fire TV. Currently, this agreement is contracted for one year. Amazon also owns another streaming service, Twitch. The streaming platform saw an increase in viewership of 31% last year.

However, there is another competitor making a name for themselves, Disney+. The streaming platform has more than 86 million subscribers, which for perspective is 4 million away from their 2024 total subscriber goal. This same feat that took Disney+ only one year, took Netflix many more years to accomplish. Not only is Disney+’s subscriber count growing rapidly, so is their content having just announced a new part of their streaming service for mature content aimed at adults, launching at the end of February this year.

Like Netflix, Disney+ is set to increase its prices with the addition of its adult-focused service. Whilst there is no confirmation around how much the price increase will be for Disney+, the confirmed prices for Netflix gives some indication. Netflix’s new prices are set to increase by £1 to £9.99 per month for the standard package, for the premium package there will be an increase of £2, making a total of £13.99. The base package will remain the same at £5.99 per month. Similar increases are expected in the US also.

For streaming services now is the perfect time for a price increase. The streaming giant Netflix saw their share price spike to $525 per share in 2020. Last year Netflix’s subscriber total grew by 26 million new users, in the first half of the year alone. However, this did decrease with the increase of new competitors in quarter 3 when only 2.2million new subscribers signed up.

Despite this, streaming platforms were so popular last year that in the early half of 2020 there were reports of countries capping data allowances for streaming services. The EU requested all streaming platforms reduce their streaming quality so as not to affect low bandwidth areas. All the major streaming platforms agreed to this measure.

Will the price increase affect Netflix negatively? Most likely not. This seems an inevitable move for streaming platforms and one that has been met with little backlash. You only have to search online for Netflix to see that all articles related to it are about new shows that are set to appear. The more interesting development will be seeing how Netflix adapts to Disney+’s inevitable takeover of the streaming world and whether Netflix will be able to hold onto their title of the world’s most popular streaming platform. With Netflix currently holding around 200 million subscribers and Disney+ expected to reach 230 million subscribers by 2024 it could be a very tight battle for the title.

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Due to the global pandemic, we have gotten used to numerous articles about various industries struggling and businesses closing. So, it is pleasant to hear when an industry has succeeded in this difficult time. This week it was announced that UK house prices had risen by 7.5% in 2020, the highest growth rate in 6 years, with detached houses being the most popular (8% price increase) and flats being the lowest (4% price increase). But it is not just conventional housing options that have risen in popularity, last year saw a large increase in people choosing to buy and live on the British canal and river systems.

First used in the industrial revolution as transport vehicles, canal boats have decreased and increased in popularity over the centuries. They come in many different versions such as narrowboats, wide beams and Dutch barges, all with their own variations. Anyone who lives near a river or canal in the UK will be familiar with the sight of those longboats. For many, they are rentable holiday homes or leisure boats for weekend cruising.

However, over the last 20 years, there has been a steady increase in residential boaters.

In London alone, between 2012 and 2019 there was an increase of 84% of residential canal boats. Due in part to the 2008 recession many Londoners looked for cheaper properties within central locations. This way of thinking occurred again after the financial crisis caused by the global pandemic last year.

Boat seller, Waterlodge, have reported selling 50% more houseboats in 2020 compared to 2019, this was despite them being closed for two months because of the global pandemic. Currently, the Canal and River Trust predicts there are more than 4,300 residential moorings in the capital city, with the Inland Waterways Association predicting further growth of up to 52% by 2022.

Sales of land properties are under no threat. Mortgage availability for houses and flats has improved and interest rates on new mortgages remain low at 1.78%. There is also the new help to buy scheme for first time buyers, which allows borrowing 40% (London) or 20% (rest of the UK) of a brand-new property’s value. This scheme is capped depending on the region. With first time buyers able to use it for a property valued at £600,00 in London but only £186,100 in the North-East of England.

Considering the plethora of property choices for first-time buyers, why are many buying canal boats? Living on a canal boat is for the most part a low-cost way of life. In many ways, it is more environmentally friendly and sustainable. For most boaters, there is no stamp duty. However, there is a mooring fee, which applies to residential and leisure boat owners.

There is no set price for mooring and it vastly changes depending on the size of boat and location. It was recently reported that to moor in the borough of Chelsea, London, it cost around £13,500 per year for a 73ft barge. There are also costs for running the boat, such as fuel, electricity and insurance. The high mooring fees can be avoided by moving to a town or village as opposed to a city. Or by following the traditional way of living on the waterways by living “on the cut;” this means to continuously cruise (move) a canal boat along the canals and rivers.

Although the low-interest rates and new help to buy schemes are set to boost the UK property market in the first quarter of 2021, it is predicted this will not last long. With the stamp duty holiday set to end in March and the full effects of reduced salaries, furlough and redundancies to become apparent, we could see an increase in people struggling to get on the traditional property ladder and instead are looking for more affordable options, such as on the waterways.

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