AA praises Asda for not surging petrol prices as diesel approaches dreaded £2 litre milestone June 24, 2022 Motoring group the AA has praised supermarket chain Asda for preventing further fuel surges, as the price of diesel moved within 0.2p of the dreaded £2-litre. The organisation’s fuel price report showed this morning that on average, big oil firms’ forecourt reached the milestone, but it could have been much worse. The AA said while [...]
City of London to ignite UK space boom, says science minister June 24, 2022 Britain’s space boom could be supercharged by the City of London’s expertise and financial muscle, the minister responsible told City A.M. yesterday. While the global space economy has spent the last 40 to 50 years recovering from a Cold War hangover, “We’re now in the hockey stick of a huge commercial space boom,” science, research and innovation [...]
Taking one for the team: Tory chair Oliver Dowden resigns after humiliated Conservatives are crushed in two by-elections June 24, 2022 Following the news the Conservative Party lost two by-elections overnight, Oliver Dowden just resigned as Tory chairman, writing in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”. In Tiverton and Honiton the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Tory majority to win, while Labour reclaimed Wakefield. The contests, triggered by the resignation [...]
World’s biggest hedge fund bets £8.6bn against European stock market will keep falling June 24, 2022 Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund, has bet £$8.56bn ($10.5bn) that Europe’s stock market will continue to decline. The US investment management firm shorted shares of 28 European companies, including bets of more than £407m ($500m) against 28 firms. The Bloomberg data, reported by the Times, says among the European firms shorted are France’s [...]
Barclays makes major lending push with £2.3bn deal for Kensington Mortgage Company June 24, 2022 In a major push to broaden its lending offering, banking giant Barclays said this morning it has agreed a deal worth around £2.3bn to buy specialist lender Kensington Mortgage Company. Barclays said the acquisition will allow it to offer more mortgage options to the self-employed and people who have multiple or variable incomes. The bank [...]
Construction giants colluded to rig £150m of contracts including Selfridges and Oxford University, CMA rules June 24, 2022 A consortium of about 10 construction firms illegally colluded to rig bids for £150m of major contracts, according to provisional findings by the UK competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said eight of the firms involved in the cartels have admitted to taking part. The rigged contracts for demolition services included work for [...]
Retail sales volumes fell last month as the cost of living crunch eats into April’s gains June 24, 2022 Retail sales volumes fell by 0.5 per cent last month, according to the latest figures, as the cost of living crisis eats away at gains made in April. While the figures suggest current inflation levels and concerns over a recession have Brits’ pinching their purse strings, sales volumes were 2.6 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, [...]
Bloom & Wild boss confident of blossoming growth despite cost of living crunch June 24, 2022 The co-founder of Bloom & Wild chats to CityA.M. about international acquisitions, venturing into physical retail and why, despite a cost of living crunch, demand for flowers is still growing. After launching in 2013, Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway’s letter-box florist has reaped the rewards of an acceleration towards online amid the pandemic. Last year, [...]
Cocktail of problems plunge UK consumer confidence to record low June 24, 2022 A relentless cost of living crunch, the prospect of a recession and stagnant wage growth has driven British pessimism to new highs, reveals a closely watched survey published today. UK consumer confidence dropped to minus 41 points this month, down marginally from minus 40 in May, the lowest reading recorded by research firm GfK since [...]
Vacant homes in London increase by the thousands, fuelling squeezed supply June 24, 2022 Westminster has seen the number of vacant but owned homes jump by 48 per cent over the past year – the equivalent of nearly 2,500 homes – as property demand in London outpaces supply. London is the only region of England which has seen the number of vacant homes rise over the past year, according [...]