Brace for another financial crisis style recession, Bank of England warns August 4, 2022 The UK is set to slump into a recession comparable to the financial crisis, driven by the biggest inflation surge in 42 years, the Bank of England warned today. Britain’s economy will shift into reverse in the final three months of this year and stay there until the final months of next year, placing it [...]
Alibaba posts flat revenue growth after ‘relatively slow’ spring August 4, 2022 E-commerce group Alibaba has posted flat revenue growth for the first time. The Hong-Kong based firm said sales in Chinese commerce dropped one per cent compared to the past year while revenue from its cloud business saw revenue up 16 per cent. The group’s revenue hit 205.56bn yuan ($30bn) in the April to June period, [...]
Dealmakers circle British firms as UK tops inward investment August 4, 2022 International dealmakers have set their sights on British firms this year with the UK now the top target in Europe for inbound and domestic investment, research today reveals.
Network Rail platform and ticketing staff join strike on 18 and 20 August August 4, 2022 Platform and ticketing staff working at Network Rail have joined the wave of industrial action and announced they will strike on 18 and 20 August. Members of the union TSSA working as general grades and controllers on the government-owned rail operator will join the walk out at seven other operators – including c2c, Avanti West [...]
Coinbase shares soar after BlackRock reveals Bitcoin partnership August 4, 2022 The world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock announced a partnership with Coinbase today to ease the way that institutional investors can buy and track Bitcoin, sending shares in the crypto bourse soaring beyond 30 per cent.
UK defence and aerospace firms risk being outpaced in STEM skills shortage August 4, 2022 The UK’s defence and aerospace sectors are continuing to be squeezed by a shortage in STEM talent, leaving ‘high-trust’ businesses vulnerable to being outpaced by overseas counterparts. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills revealed earlier this year that 43 per cent of STEM vacancies were hard to fill due to a shortage of applicants, [...]
More jumbo Bank of England rate hikes on a knife edge if UK tips into long recession August 4, 2022 More super-sized rate hikes in the coming months from the Bank of England are on a knife edge if the economy slumps into a prolonged recession, City economists are betting. Consumers and businesses may struggle to absorb further 50 basis point rate rises, likely prompting the Bank to slowdown its rate hike cycle, experts said [...]
Sofa seller ScS cautions cost-of-living pressures have slowed orders down August 4, 2022 ScS has warned that cost-of-living pressures have already driven down orders although the sofa business still lifted its profit expectations for the rest of the year. The furniture retailer reported a 3.9 per cent increase in orders in the year to 30 July, compared with the previous year. The company said a stronger than expected [...]
Back to black: Lufthansa returns to profit but shaves flight offerings amid travel chaos August 4, 2022 Lufthansa has returned to black, posting an operating profit of €393m (£331m) in the three months to June following a boom in demand for cargo flights. Up from last year’s loss of €827m, the carrier’s adjusted EBIT margin rose to 4.6 per cent while net income went up from a loss of €756m to a [...]
Bank of England signs off biggest rate hike in nearly 30 years August 4, 2022 The Bank of England today ripped up the history books and hiked interest rates by the largest amount in its 25 years of independence. The nine-strong committee of rate setters, including governor Andrew Bailey, backed a 50 basis point rise by 8-1 in a bid to step up their battle against the worst inflation surge [...]