Homeserve to sell Piedmont policy book for $22m December 13, 2021 Home repairs international firm Homeserve announced this morning its intention to sell to gas company Piedmont its policy book, as shares went down 3.67 per cent. Homeserve cited PiedmonHomeserve cited Piedmont’s acquisition by US energy giant Duke as the main reason for selling the policy books built during the two companies’ partnership, set to expire [...]
BHP ends talks with rival as Noront bidding war heats up December 13, 2021 Talks between Australian mining companies BHP and rival Wyloo have ended today as the companies compete to purchase Noront.
UK firms slash borrowing to reduce swelling debt burden December 13, 2021 British businesses are set to slash borrowing this year as firms repay debt to repair the damage inflicted on them by the Covid-19 crisis, according to a new report released today. A return to normal patterns of economic activity after the disruption caused by the pandemic will drive a sharp pull back in business borrowing, [...]
Record volume of UK factories hike prices in bid to survive inflation assault December 13, 2021 UK factories are hiking prices en masse in a bid to withstand an inflation onslaught, reveal fresh figures released today. A record number of British factories are raising prices as the sector scrambles to offset swelling costs to protect margins, research by BDO and Make UK found. The “eye watering impact of escalating cost pressures” [...]
Two-fifths of London SMEs plan to shed workers as furlough ends and pandemic restrictions return December 13, 2021 Two-fifths of owner-managed businesses in London are reportedly planning to make redundancies this winter.
Omicron to drive markets amid busy week of economic data December 12, 2021 Once again, Omicron news is set to drive sudden reactions from investors amid a busy week of closely watched economic data. Sentiment is more muddled due to uncertainty over the extent the reintroduction of tougher Covid-19 prevention measures in the UK could whack economic growth over the coming months. Despite greater confusion over the trajectory [...]
Ongoing Covid booster drive to eat into health and social care levy funds December 12, 2021 An ongoing booster vaccination programme to deal with recurring coronavirus pressures will eat into funds yielded from the new health and social care levy earmarked for the NHS. The government could be forced to use some of the money produced from the 1.25 per cent levy on a permanent booster campaign, with the total bill [...]
What is next for Hong Kong’s stock market? December 10, 2021 | City Talk The Hang Seng Index is down close to 12.8% year to date. What lies ahead, as fears about Omicron dog markets? Hang Seng Index – what is weighing on the index? Year to date (YTD), the Hang Seng Index remained in the red with -12.8% total return, largely trailing behind its global peers such as Nikkei’s 4.1% [...]
US inflation nears 40-year high, as Omicron fears set in December 10, 2021 US inflation is poised for a nearly 40-year high, with analysts forecasting a jump to 6.8 per cent compared with this time last year. Though investors still await more data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which will release its consumer price index later today. The fresh inflation heights could add more coal to [...]
GDP growth falls short of expectations, inching 0.1 per cent higher in October December 10, 2021 The UK’s economic growth inched just 0.1 per cent in October, according to the latest figures. The figure remains 0.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic level, the Officer for National Statistic found, falling short of economist and analyst expectations after experts had forecast a 0.4 per cent increase. Construction and hospitality were among the hardest [...]