Construction momentum fades amid fragile consumer confidence January 7, 2025 Construction activity in the UK economy fell to a six-month low in December, a new survey shows, with momentum slowing across the sector. Housebuilding activity slipped deeper into contraction, according to S&P’s construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), while growth in commercial and civil engineering work slowed compared to the month before. This meant that the [...]
Rolls-Royce shares worth 820p says City broker January 7, 2025 Despite the strong performance of Rolls-Royce’s stock price over the last two years, a City broker is expecting the aerospace company to keep leading the FTSE 100 in share price growth. In a note published today by Panmure Liberum, analyst Nick Cunningham argued that Rolls-Royce’s shares could still increase by more than 40 per cent [...]
Buying a house? Pay in cash for a £28k discount January 7, 2025 Buying a house is the largest purchase most of us will make in a lifetime – but it may be cheaper for some than others. Cash buyers now pay £28,000 less on average for a home than those relying on a mortgage, and the ‘cash discount’ has risen by 12.4 per cent in just two [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Johnson Matthey: US investor ramps up activist campaign January 7, 2025 Johnson Matthey’s largest shareholder has piled pressure on the FTSE 250 chemicals group, calling its response to a demanded strategic review “wholly insufficient”. In an open letter to Johnson Matthey chair Patrick Thomas, today, US industrials investor Standard Investments slammed the group’s “destruction of shareholder value” as part of its activist campaign. Last month, Standard [...]
Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]
UK house prices climb at fastest rate since 2021 – but fears over Budget impact mount January 7, 2025 According to Halifax, UK house prices rose 3.3 per cent across 2024 as a whole, with the majority of the house price growth coming in the second half of the year.
Close Brothers chief executive steps down after medical leave January 7, 2025 Close Brothers group chief executive Adrian Sainsbury has stepped down from his role after four months of medical leave. The FTSE 250 CEO began in the role in 2020 after more than 11 years at the company, joining Close Brothers as chief executive of its commercial arm before becoming director of the group’s main banking [...]
How will the UK economy perform in 2025? January 7, 2025 The economy has shown few signs of life since June and business surveys since October's Budget have painted an incredibly bleak picture of the year ahead.
Retail gloom as festive season fails to save 2024 trading January 7, 2025 High street stores showed anaemic growth in the 2024 festive season, despite hopes that Christmas trading would inject some cheer into the sector. Sales grew just 0.3 per cent overall in the ‘golden quarter’, which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online sales continued to beat in-store, [...]
