CBI boss calls for ‘fast’ action to help businesses March 16, 2020 The boss of the CBI has called for the government to help firms under threat from coronavirus. Dame Carolyn Fairbairn used an appearance on the BBC’s Today programme this morning to highlight the drop in demand facing businesses due to increased social distancing. This comes after the coronavirus crisis continued to escalate. “The severity of [...]
City Moves for 16 March — Who’s switching jobs at Coretech Solutions, Liontrust and F&C Investment Trust? March 16, 2020 Today’s city Moves includes Coretech Solutions, Liontrust and F&C Investment Trust Coretech Solutions UK technology specialist Coretech Solutions has announced the appointment of Michael Green as non-executive director. He joins the business following 40 years’ experience in leadership roles across the retail and property sectors. Most recently, he was the first appointed chief executive of the [...]
Muppets with knives: Donald Trump and Christine Lagarde have turned the coronavirus crisis into an economic disaster March 16, 2020 “It is hard to soar with Eagles when you work with turkeys.” — Sam the American Eagle, Muppet. As everyone remotely connected with business and government knows, there is a great danger in advancing obviously overmatched people not up to the job. Promoting “muppets” (which, with apologies to Kermit the Frog, is the nickname we used [...]
You’re not the boss of me: Dissecting the aggressive trademark tactics of Hugo Boss March 16, 2020 One of the most critical assets of every company is its brand. In fact, it is so important that the brand value of a company can be greater than its stock market valuation. Since the late nineties, an increasing number of successful companies have been “brand-led” — the concept that the character of the company [...]
Disney’s streaming push is about more than subscriber numbers March 16, 2020 With Disney Plus launching in the UK — and in other European markets — debate rages as to whether we will see the rise of a “Netflix killer”, and which brand will emerge as the ultimate winner. Streaming services have been enjoying their moment in the sun. In the leading US market, subscriber rates for [...]
A levelling up agenda cannot afford to overlook the UK’s beating financial heart March 16, 2020 With the strong and unpredictable economic headwinds of 2020, last week’s Budget came at a critical juncture. All eyes were on the new chancellor, in particular on what the Budget might propose to alleviate some of the short-term Covid-19 shocks to the economy. Efforts to support households and businesses, particularly SMEs, through the Covid-19 outbreak [...]
Andrew Bailey takes over with Bank of England battling coronavirus recession March 16, 2020 Andrew Bailey is no stranger to a tough job. But the incoming Bank of England governor, who takes up his new role as Mark Carney steps down tomorrow, could never have anticipated the size of the challenge that awaits him at Threadneedle Street. Bailey’s time at the Financial Conduct Authority began in the wake of [...]
Coronavirus: Pandemic heaps uncertainty on house price growth March 16, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus outbreak has heaped uncertainty on London’s housing market, which had started to rally following the Conservative general election victory. The price of property coming to market in the capital surged 5.1 per cent year on year last month to an average of £638,826, the highest annual rate of growth since May 2016. [...]
UK distillery numbers jump as craft gin popularity booms March 16, 2020 The number of distilleries in the UK has surged as craft gin continues to grow in popularity, according to the latest research. Distilleries jumped 20 per cent to 246 over the last year, up from 205 the previous year, as the UK gin industry toasted a nine per cent increase in export sales to £672m [...]
Retail footfall jumps as UK coronavirus cases rise March 16, 2020 Retail footfall spiked at the end of last month as consumers rushed to the shops to stock up due to the spread of coronavirus in the UK. Retail footfall in February was down two per cent year on year due to several storms during the month. However, the final week of the month saw a [...]