UK’s professional services sector weathers economic headwinds August 13, 2022 The UK’s professional services sector has continued to grow its turnovers in the face of major economic headwinds, new UK government data shows. The accountancy sector’s turnovers increased 3.7 per cent, from £3.41bn in May to £3.54bn in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows. The country’s legal sector also saw its turnovers [...]
Abrdn snaps up stake in London crypto startup Archax August 13, 2022 Scottish asset manager Abrdn has bought a stake in the UK’s first regulated crypto trader Archax in a major vote of confidence in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will see Abrdn become the crypto startup’s largest external shareholder, the crypto firm said in a statement. Launched in 2018, Archax is [...]
Peloton sends staff back to the office in far-reaching turnaround plan August 13, 2022 Exercise bike maker Peloton has set out plans to hike its prices, cut costs, and force its staff back into the office, as it seeks to turnaround after demand for its home gym equipment dipped following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. In an internal memo published by Bloomberg, the New York headquartered running machine seller [...]
New virus outbreak: As Langya spreads across China, just how worried should we be? August 13, 2022 A new virus, Langya, is suspected to have caused infections in 35 people in China’s Shandong and Henan provinces. It’s related to Hendra and Nipah viruses, which cause disease in humans. However, there’s much we don’t know about the new virus – known as LayV for short – including whether it spreads from human to human. Therefore, [...]
Record £300bn wiped off UK bonds and gilts as investors flee in biggest market collapse in decades August 13, 2022 Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades. In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen [...]
Law Society calls for ‘sustained investment’ in courts to cut worsening case backlog August 13, 2022 The Law Society has called on the government to make “sustained investment” in the UK’s court system after new data showed the case backlog has gotten worse over the previous quarter. The backlog of cases waiting to be heard in the England and Wales Crown Courts has increased from 58,540 in April to 58,973 in [...]
Five Chinese firms vow to delist from US markets amid long running audit dispute August 13, 2022 Five Chinese state-owned companies have said they will pull themselves off the New York stock exchange amid long-running clashes between Beijing and Washington over audit standards. The five Chinese firms have said they will delist from the Wall Street market after coming under scrutiny over US regulators claims they have failed to meet US audit [...]
Russian economy shrinks by four per cent due to impacts of Western sanctions August 13, 2022 The Russian is now four per cent smaller than it was a year ago, according to new figures from the country’s state statistics agency. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) for Q2 2022 equals a sum equivalent to 96 per cent the value of the country’s economy in Q2 2021, the preliminary Rosstat statistics show. The [...]
What the new interest rates mean for the City: ‘The UK fares worse than the EU and US’ August 13, 2022 The Bank of England’s decision to further raise interest rates from 1.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent and its two-year predictions means bad news for investors and UK residents alike. And the pain is far from over. A top City analyst expects this to further rise to 2.25 per cent in September. Other than [...]
UK’s trade deficit widens to record £27.9bn as business with Russia reaches historic low August 13, 2022 New data showed this morning that UK’s trade deficit in goods and services widens again in Q2 to a record £27.9bn. Moreover, monthly imports from Russia dropped to meagre £33m, the lowest since records began and down from over £1.8bn in both January and February of this year. Also during Q2, imports increased by £14.3bn [...]