Former speaker John Bercow to be denied peerage July 28, 2020 Former speaker John Bercow is expected this week to be denied a life peerage, after being nominated in Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation list. Bercow is set to be denied by the House of Lords Appointments Commission due to persistent bullying allegations while he was House of Commons speaker. The commission is also expected to deny the [...]
UK housebuilder stocks surge on Help to Buy extension reports July 28, 2020 UK housebuilder stocks surged this morning on reports that the government is preparing to extend the Help to Buy scheme. Barratt Developments’ share price was up 5.07 per cent and Berkeley Group’s shares jumped 4.07 per cent this morning. Taylor Wimpey’s share price increased 3.29 per cent and Persimmon’s stock was up 4.06 per cent. [...]
UK broadband customers to save £270m following Ofcom review July 28, 2020 Broadband customers who choose not to sign up to contract deals are set to make total savings of £270m each year from pricing changes following a new Ofcom review. A report released today by telecoms watchdog Ofcom found that broadband companies are failing to protect customers from high out-of-contract prices, in a move that is [...]
Google to build undersea cable between New York and Cornwall July 28, 2020 Google is set to build a subsea network cable between the US, the UK and Spain, it said today. The landing points will be situated in New York, Bude and Bilbao, and is set to go online by 2022. Named after Grace Hopper, who was a pioneering computer scientist, the project will join three existing [...]
UK retail sales bounce back as shops reopen from lockdown July 28, 2020 UK retail sales bounced back in July after “non-essential” shops were reopened, according to a closely watched gauge that hit its highest level since April last year. The CBI’s measure of retail sales volumes rebounded to a score of four in July from minus 37 in June. It indicated that sales grew slightly compared to [...]
LVMH sales slump drags down other luxury stocks July 28, 2020 Shares in luxury goods giant LVMH fell this morning after the Louis Vuitton owner posted a slump in profit and sales in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The French firm’s share price dipped more than four per cent after it reported a 27 per cent drop in revenue in [...]
Card Factory online sales soar 120 per cent over lockdown July 28, 2020 Card Factory has avoided its worst case scenario of a staggering drop in store sales since the end of lockdown, it said today, as digital sales soared 120 per cent during the quarantine period. The greetings card retailer said today that store sales have plunged 21.6 per cent year on year since mid-June, better than [...]
Banks lend £49bn to SMEs to survive coronavirus fallout July 28, 2020 Banks have now lent out £49.4bn through the three main government-backed loan schemes, according to Treasury data released today. Banks have given out £33.7bn through the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) up until the week ending 26 July. The programme sees the government guarantee 100 per cent of bank loans worth up to £50,000 to [...]
Sky Arts to become free to air channel in bid to boost culture sector July 28, 2020 Sky Arts will become free to air for all viewers in September, as the broadcaster attempts to boost the sector in a “vital time for culture” during the pandemic. Britain’s only TV channel dedicated solely to arts and culture is currently only available to paying customers. However, it will become free to air for all [...]
Selfridges to cut 450 jobs due to coronavirus pandemic July 28, 2020 Luxury department store Selfridges announced this morning it will make around 450 people redundant as the coronavirus crisis claims more UK high street jobs. The retailer said it will reduce its overall headcount by 14 per cent as sales this year are forecast to be “significantly less” than 2019. The retailer will focus on strengthening [...]