Risk on or risk off? December 22, 2020 The next stage As expected, risk off tone dominated the price action as market participants reacted to the news of an aggressive spread of a new strain of coronavirus out of the UK, as well as further tensions between the EU and the UK ahead of the Brexit deadline. As a result, GBP was hit [...]
UK firms’ profits collapse by a fifth in November as lockdown bites December 22, 2020 UK businesses saw profits fall by an average of 20 per cent year-on-year in November, according to a respected business tracker. The Opinium/Cebr tracker tallies with other indicators suggesting that the economic recovery has at best stalled and perhaps even reversed in the last quarter of the year. Read more: UK borrowing figures are third [...]
FTSE 100 bounces back as investors absorb impact of mutant strain December 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 inched into the green on Tuesday even as the prospect of another national lockdown loomed amid concerns of a new strain of coronavirus. London’s blue-chip index opened 0.43 per cent lower to 6,388 points before bouncing back to trade up 0.35 per cent by 9.30am. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 is [...]
Central London’s luxury property dips on Brexit uncertainty December 22, 2020 The allure of luxury property in central London has waned this year amid Brexit uncertainty and weaker demand. With Brexit reaching an impasse ahead of the end of the transition period, the annual price change in prime central and prime outer London properties grew to its widest this month. Average prices in prime central London [...]
Offices share half-a-billion business rates write-off December 22, 2020 The Valuation Office Agency has agreed to write off almost £500m-worth of offices’ business rates after weeks of negotiations. Business rates discounts were announced for firms directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, including pubs and restaurants. Read more: UK borrowing in November the third-highest on record Offices that lay empty however [...]
Patel refuses to rule out further Tier 4 restrictions as mutant virus spreads December 22, 2020 Home Secretary Priti Patel has refused to rule out a new year lockdown, as a new, more infectious variant of coronavirus spreads across the country. This morning Patel said the government was willing to take stronger measures if the virus continued to spread in the UK. Speaking on Sky News, she said: “If new strains [...]
UK Q3 growth revised upwards to 16 per cent but recovery stalls in October December 22, 2020 The UK grew only 0.4 per cent in October as the reintroduction of restrictions across the country took their toll on the economic recovery. In the same release, the Office for National Statistics revised their estimate of GDP growth in Q3, however, to 16 per cent. Read more: UK borrowing hits third highest monthly level [...]
Applegreen goes private as founders and Blackstone tie up £653m deal December 22, 2020 Irish petrol station and roadside convenience operator Applegreen has agreed to a bid from a consortium led by investment company Blackstone. The deal values the firm at 718.1m euro, a premium of around 48 per cent on the firm’s share price on the day of the bid. The buyout will see the firm go private. [...]
Chris Tremlett: Why Zak Crawley’s double century was my cricket highlight of 2020 December 22, 2020 How a player starts their international career can be defining, so my cricket highlight of 2020 was a young man laying down a marker. Zak Crawley’s double century for England in the third Test against the West Indies during the summer was really impressive. A performance like that should fill the 22-year-old Kent batsman with [...]
Sofa so good at DFS with sales up 19 per cent in six months December 22, 2020 Gross sales at DFS Furniture increased 19 per cent against the comparable 24-week period ending 15 December 2019, despite disruption caused by Covid-19. The furniture business’s online channel in particular grew in the 24 weeks to 13 December, with gross sales up 76 per cent on the same period last year. DFS believes it has [...]
