Matalan’s founder John Hargreaves makes last attempt to retain control December 18, 2022 John Hargreaves has reportedly made a last attempt to keep control of Matalan, making a 50-50 offer with Elliot Advisors’ private equity arm. The 78-year-old businessman, who floated the company almost 25 years ago, is among one of Matalan’s four potential buyers. The other three are the retailer’s senior lenders and private equities Alteri and [...]
Rishi Sunak to extend energy bill support for all businesses December 18, 2022 All British businesses are set to benefit from an extension of the government’s energy support package for up to 12 months. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to sign-off on the extension, however it is expected that most businesses will be given a smaller discount on their energy bills from April. The Sunday Times reports [...]
Rising tensions: Foxconn to be fined by Taiwan over investment in China December 18, 2022 Apple supplier Foxconn is expected to be fined by the Taiwanese government for an unauthorised investment in China, as tensions between the two states continue to build. Foxconn, the world’s largest maker of contract electronics, had bought a stake in Chinese chip giant Tsinghua Unigroup in July, which went against new rules imposed in Taiwan. [...]
Sunak bins Truss’s Energy Supply Taskforce after just three months December 18, 2022 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has scrapped a taskforce launched by his predecessor to shore up the UK’s energy security by striking a series of long-term deals with gas suppliers. The Energy Supply Taskforce, announced by Liz Truss towards the beginning of her short tenure in No 10 as part of a package of measures to [...]
City eyes final economic data before Christmas shut down December 18, 2022 Although investors will be readying to get away over the Christmas break, there are a few economic data sets to get through before the City shuts down. Last week, London’s FTSE 100 index slumped nearly two per cent to close at 7,332.12 points as traders were bombarded by a barrage of global economic news. FTSE [...]
Liz Truss, Bill Hwang and Elon Musk: The 2022 awards you don’t want to win December 18, 2022 We started the year with Boris Johnson in Downing Street and optimism for a Covid-19 rebound. It didn’t quite turn out that way – and here’s our pick of the best of the best (or worst of the worst) of 2022… THE MUM OF THE YEAR AWARD This year hasn’t been smooth sailing for e-commerce retail [...]
Toshiba’s prospective buyer mulls reducing £13bn bid after weak earnings December 18, 2022 The prospective buyer of Toshiba is reportedly mulling the decision to lower its bid for the Japanese tech giant. Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) secured 2.2 trillion yen (£13.23bn) for Toshiba from four Japanese banks on Friday. However, local business newspaper Nikkei reported yesterday that Toshiba’s weaker than expected earnings may knock some value off the [...]
Dowden says ‘our door always open’ to striking unions December 18, 2022 A senior minister has insisted that “our door is always open” to union bosses, despite refusing to engage in pay negotiations with striking nurses. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said today that “we’re always willing to talk” with the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), but that its 19 per cent pay increase demand is “not [...]
Rishi Sunak: Rail workers tired of being ‘foot soldiers’ in RMT’s ‘class war’ December 18, 2022 Rail workers are tired of being “foot soldiers” in the union RMT’s “class war,” according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The PM said the deals offered to both railway staff and Border Force workers have been “fair” and yet “affordable to taxpayers.” “An increasing number of union members want a deal,” Sunak wrote in The [...]
Londoners evacuated from homes after burst mains bring deluge December 17, 2022 People have been evacuated from their flooded homes after two water mains burst in north London, with multiple postcodes without water.