Consumer credit growth and the flashing light marked ‘car financing’ February 6, 2017 | City Talk Last month, the Financial Times highlighted two “remarkable and unexpected” features of the post-Brexit UK economy – consumer spending accelerated in the second half of last year and much of this was financed by a surge in borrowing. According to the Bank of England, the article continued, consumer credit grew at an annual rate of [...]
Costs rise and margins fall on the back of the weaker pound according to a survey of 1,500 businesses by the BCC February 6, 2017 The recent fall in the value of sterling is increasing the cost base of UK businesses and squeezing sales margins, according to the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) latest International Trade Survey published today. More than two thirds of the 1500 businesses surveyed in conjunction with moneycorp expect the fall in the value of sterling [...]
Industry groups call on chancellor Philip Hammond to cut businesses some slack in the Spring Budget next month February 6, 2017 Businesses large and small are calling on chancellor Philip Hammond to ease the mounting burden on firms in next month's Budget. Business rates, the apprenticeship levy, the national living wage and pensions auto-enrolment are some of the rising costs highlighted by two influential business groups today. In its submission to the Treasury ahead of the Budget [...]
Spotlight falls on the London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger: Who knew what, and when? February 6, 2017 The plot around the London Stock Exchange’s proposed £21bn mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse continues to thicken, with more confusion emerging over when talks between the companies began. German authorities have opened a criminal probe into Deutsche Boerse chief Carsten Kengeter and are investigating whether negotiations between the companies were under way prior to a €4.5m (£3.9m) [...]
Trumping Brexit: Business optimism soars as manufacturing confidence hits 20-month high February 6, 2017 The shock Brexit vote and the outcome of the US presidential elections have failed to dent business optimism in the UK, according to a report by BDO. The accountants’ optimism index, which indicates how firms expect their order books to develop in the next six months, has risen to 103.7 from 102.2 in December. BDO's latest [...]
UK firms could face £2,600 in additional employment costs, warns Federation of Small Businesses February 6, 2017 UK small businesses could face £2,600 in additional employment costs, the Federation of Small Businesses has warned. The business lobby group called on UK chancellor Philip Hammond to use the upcoming budget to help small businesses tackle soaring employment costs. In its submission to Hammond ahead of the 8 March budget, the FSB has urged action [...]
Economists following Bank of England’s lead raise UK growth forecasts February 5, 2017 City economists are raising their predictions for the UK economy’s growth in line with the Bank of England’s more positive outlook. In a survey conducted by Consensus Economics, the average forecast for 2017 growth rose to 1.4 per cent, The Sunday Times reported today. The positive outlook is up from a low of 0.6 per [...]
Replace 250,000 public sector jobs with robots, urges think tank Reform in radical workforce overhaul driven by technology February 5, 2017 Automating admin jobs could reduce the public sector workforce by more than a quarter of a million people saving the economy billions of pounds, a leading think tank has suggested. And adopting technology such as artificial intelligence, chatbots and drones, could radically overhaul the public sector and streamline Whitehall even further, according to a new report [...]
BP’s profits set to halve for the second year in a row due to low oil prices February 5, 2017 Energy giant BP’s full-year profits are expected to halve to under $3bn, down from almost $6bn last year. The predicted fall in annual profits comes at the end of a year of low oil prices and a difficult environment for downstream business. BP’s investor relations team projected underlying profit of $560m (£448.5m) for the final [...]
The 10 jobs where you’re most (and least) likely to be replaced by a robot February 5, 2017 It looks like you better get into some sort of medical related career if you want to avoid robots replacing you, but even Homer Simpson would likely be out of a job in future. Doctors, surgeons, audiologists, prosthetics makers and occupational therapists are among the more than 200 middle class jobs least likely to be lost to automation, according [...]