Ex Fed chair Ben Bernanke to lead review into Bank of England forecasting July 28, 2023 Ben Bernanke, ex-chair of the Federal Reserve, has been appointed to lead a review into the Bank of England’s forecasting during times of significant uncertainty. The review aims to strengthen the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) approach to forecasting during times of uncertainty, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bernanke, a Nobel prize winning economist [...]
John Lewis revamps marketing approach as it tackles losses July 28, 2023 John Lewis has created a ‘customer planning team’ to make the most out of its marketing budget in stores and online, as it struggles with huge losses. The upmarket British retailer, famed for its annual tearjerker Christmas ad, has appointed Andreas Nicolaides to lead the new team from October. John Lewis, which owns Waitrose, said [...]
Elon Musk and Worldcoin only prove that marketing seems more powerful than education July 28, 2023 A bleary-eyed Jason Deane takes a couple of paracetamol and dons his shades to ponder one very crazy week in crypto.
EP: 216 Ascot & York July 28, 2023 All eyes will be on Ascot on Saturday for a mouth-watering renewal of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes with some of Europe’s leading horses due to line up in this Group One contest. York is also the venue for further group racing action on the same afternoon. Today we hear from [...]
Unilever: Ben & Jerry’s maker appoints new chair as leadership shake-up continues July 28, 2023 Ben & Jerry’s maker Unilever has appointed a new chair as the shakeup of its top team continues. The British company, which makes everything from ice-cream and Hellmann’s to Wall’s, said Ian Meakins will join Unilever’s board on 1 September as its non-executive director and chair designate. He currently serves as the chair of British [...]
Bentley warns of ‘challenging conditions’ ahead as marque levels out following 2022 bonanza July 28, 2023 Bentley posted operating profits of €390m (£335.16m) today, down slightly on the same period in 2022, as the marque levelled out following last year’s earnings bonanza. The luxury carmaker also saw revenues decrease slightly, posting €1.68bn (£1.44bn) against a 2022 figure of €1.71bn (£1.46bn) amid a downturn in global sales of four per cent year-on-year. [...]
How changing a single risk measure could give banks the freedom the economy needs July 28, 2023 In this guest essay, three of the City’s sharpest minds lay out a route for our biggest lenders to get their risk appetite back Since the global financial crisis of 2007/8, banks have been less able to lend to the real economy. Much of their traditional financing activity has been displaced into the more lightly [...]
AstraZeneca: Revenue boost despite welcome end of Covid-19 jab sales July 28, 2023 Britain’s biggest FTSE firm AstraZeneca reported an uptick in sales as oncology treatments helped pick up the slack from falling sales of Covid-19 medicines. The pharmaceutical company made over $22.2bn (£17.3bn) – a four per cent increase – during the first half of 2023, causing shares to spring over three per cent on market open [...]
Rising mortgage rates sends demand for homes down 18 per cent, new data shows July 28, 2023 Rising mortgage rates has reduced demand for homes by 18 per cent, Zoopla’s latest House Price Index revealed today. This weaker demand, coupled with rising supply, saw UK house price growth shrink to 0.6 per cent for June, down from 9.6 per cent for the same month last year. The estate agent said it expects [...]
FTSE 100 close: British Gas owner propels to top of London index after record profit July 27, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 bumped higher today after a manic morning of company earnings gave a lift to market sentiment. The capital’s premier index added 0.21 per cent to reach 7,692.77 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.45 per cent to 19,273.37 points. [...]