B&M set to smash expectations as retailer reports lockdown boost July 28, 2020 B&M European Value Retail hailed a “strong” first half of the year on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, with earnings for the six months to September set to smash analysts’ expectations. The group expects adjusted earnings before tax, amortization and depreciation for the six months to 26 September to be between £250m and £270m, [...]
Surging Dettol demand amid pandemic pushes Reckitt Benckiser’s profit higher July 28, 2020 A surge in Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser’s hygiene product sales helped the company post a sharp 14 per cent rise in operating profit for the pandemic-struck first half of 2020 today. The figures Operating profit rose 14 per cent year on year to £1.59bn, while profit before tax increased 13.9 per cent to £1.44bn. Revenue [...]
Greggs swings to £65m loss during coronavirus crisis July 28, 2020 Greggs swung to a loss of more than £65m for the six months to 27 June after Brits tried their own hand at baking during lockdown, it revealed today. The results Greggs swung to a pre-tax loss of £65.2m, down from a profit of £36.7m in the same period last year. Total sales for the [...]
An e-citizenship scheme would put the UK at the heart of global trade July 28, 2020 The global population of startups and entrepreneurs is on the rise. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, just 8.9 per cent of the world’s population was involved in some sort of startup business in 2001. By 2016, that figure was 14 per cent. In the most entrepreneurial countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, startups can employ [...]
DEBATE: Is the government right to focus on obesity as its top public health issue? July 28, 2020 Is the government right to focus on obesity as its top public health issue? Dr Keith Klintworth, managing director at VitalityHealth, says YES. The pandemic has made the case for action on obesity stronger than ever, with research showing that it is the second biggest risk factor for hospitalisation from Covid-19. Not only that, but [...]
Corruption in politics? It’s just business as usual July 28, 2020 Robert Wood Johnson IV is not a name which necessarily springs even to the more well-informed lips. “Woody”, as he is far better known, is the American ambassador to London — a post he assumed almost three years ago at the request of Donald Trump. His background is not in diplomacy: he is part of [...]
A property wealth tax is the only fair way to pay for the Covid-19 crisis July 28, 2020 Two years ago, the director of the Office for Budget Responsibility wrote the following: “Broadly speaking, the fiscal position is unsustainable if the public sector is on course to absorb an ever-growing share of national income… The baseline projection in each of our reports — since the first was published in 2011 — has pointed [...]
Stamp duty cut sees London house sales rocket 27 per cent July 28, 2020 The stamp duty holiday has significantly boosted London’s housing market, with new sales agreed up by over a quarter in just two weeks, new data has shown. UK house prices rose 0.2 per cent in June as a jump in demand for houses outstripped a fall in the number of sellers, the figures also showed. [...]
Alstom set for green light for €6bn Bombardier rail deal July 27, 2020 French giant Alstom is set to get approval from the EU’s competition watchdog to buy Bombadier’s rail business, paving the way for the creation of the world’s second largest rail firm. Reuters reported that regulators were set to give the deal the go-ahead after Alstom made a number of concessions due to antitrust fears. In [...]
Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel to Spanish isles July 27, 2020 The Foreign Office is now warning against all but essential travel to the Balearic and Canary Islands after a surge in coronavirus infections in Spain. Travellers returning from the islands to the UK will have to quarantine for 14 days, the FCO confirmed via tweet this evening. “Travel advice for Spain has been further updated. [...]