Slamming on the brakes: Chinese car sales suffer steepest ever annual decline June 12, 2019 The Chinese car market suffered its largest ever monthly sales drop in May, bolstering concerns around the country’s economic slowdown. Sales fell 16.4 per cent last month compared to the same period last year, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The drop is the 11th straight month of decline, after falls of 14.6 [...]
Fast fashion: Boohoo bucks high street gloom with soaring revenue June 12, 2019 Fast fashion retailer Boohoo has again defied a gloomy retail sector, reporting 39 per cent sales growth in the last quarter. The firm’s offering, of selling cheap own-brand clothing and accessories online, has chimed with younger consumers in recent years. Boohoo’s rise comes at the same time as high street rivals such as Topshop fight [...]
Lloyd’s of London insurer opens investigation amid ‘fresh harassment claims’ June 11, 2019 Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), one of the Lloyd’s of London’s top insurance firms, is conducting an investigation amid claims two executives harassed colleagues. The claims deepen the scandal surrounding workplace culture at Lloyd’s of London. Allegations are believed to include one executive groping colleagues and making lewd sexual remarks. Another has been accused of stalking [...]
A road less travelled: British car industry troubles run far deeper than Brexit June 11, 2019 The dust has settled. Bridgend’s male voice choir has sung in protest at Ford’s Essex headquarters. And back in their south Wales hometown, the US car maker’s 1,700 factory workers returned to work yesterday for the first time since they learnt of their impending redundancy. But before they had even stopped for lunch, the Office [...]
Outsourcer Interserve went into administration owing more than £100m to creditors June 10, 2019 Interserve owed more than £100m to firms including accountants, local authorities and IT suppliers when it went into administration in March. The outsourcer owed its unsecured creditors £50.5m, while its secured creditors were due £55.4m, according to documents filed with Companies House. Read more: Interserve kicked off government’s late payments scheme Among the biggest losers [...]
‘Is this serious?’ Boris Johnson’s £39bn threat gives City the jitters June 10, 2019 Boris Johnson’s threat to withhold the UK’s £39bn Brexit divorce bill raised eyebrows in the City yesterday and provoked a strong reaction from across the Channel. The former mayor of London vowed to hold onto the cash to force the EU to give Britain a better withdrawal deal, as part of his pitch to become [...]
Public inquiry will probe Greybull’s role in collapse of British Steel June 9, 2019 MPs will quiz one of British Steel’s former owners on the firm’s collapse later this month, after they launched an inquiry into the troubled industry this weekend. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee will examine the role private equity firm Greybull Capital had in the industrial giant’s demise. The announcement comes less than a [...]
First Group ‘may sue government’ if no deal on South Western Railway franchise contract June 9, 2019 First Group is open to suing the government if the two cannot agree terms on its South Western Railway franchise. Responding to reports the company could bring legal action, a spokesperson said any suggestions of this were “purely hypothetical”. First Group’s new boss Matthew Gregory had told the Sunday Times if the two sides could [...]
Boris Johnson vows to hold back £39bn Brexit divorce bill to force EU into a better deal June 9, 2019 Boris Johnson has threatened to force the European Union’s hand by withholding Britain’s £39bn “divorce” bill until it agrees to more favourable terms to leave. The former mayor of London made his first pitch to become Prime Minister by vowing to keep hold of the cash, scrap the Northern Irish backstop and guarantee the rights [...]
‘In a dark place’: Kier shares plummet 40 per cent after embattled outsourcer gives £25m profit warning June 3, 2019 Kier Group shares have suffered a fresh blow this morning, dropping more than a third as the troubled outsourcer reels from its latest profit warning. The construction and services company, which is listed as one of the government’s top external suppliers of public services, shocked investors this morning with the news operating profit will be [...]
