Natwest profits soar but customers withdraw £1bn as cost of living and tax bills bite April 28, 2023 Natwest has beaten profit expectations during the first three months of this year. Natwest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn in the three months ending 31 March. The total comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations of £1.6bn for the quarter and ahead of the £1.2bn during [...]
UK to avoid recession but inflation won’t return to Bank of England target until end of next year April 28, 2023 Britain is poised to dodge a recession this year, but inflation will not return to the Bank of England’s two per cent target until the end of next year, new forecasts out last night revealed. The fresh projections from consultancy PwC add to the growing body of organisations who have canned their prediction that the [...]
UK car production accelerates as semiconductor shortage is ‘all but over’ April 28, 2023 UK car production rose six per cent in the first three months of 2023 thanks to the easing of semiconductor shortages, though concerns remain as production continues to lag pre-pandemic levels. According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), production rose to 219,887 units, with factories producing 12,540 units more than [...]
IN PICTURES: Flags, robes and specialist merch – how Londoners are preparing for the Coronation Weekend April 28, 2023 London retail is set for a big boost from the coronation, according to figures released today by the New West End Company. The company, which represents 600 retail and hospitality businesses in the West End, forecasts that sales over the Coronation Weekend will hit £50m. Total footfall is predicted to reach 1.75m, 24 per cent [...]
HMV to reopen flagship London Oxford Street store after ‘dramatic turnaround’ under new owner April 28, 2023 Music and entertainment giant HMV will reopen its flagship London store on Oxford Street after four years, in wake of a “dramatic turnaround” under new ownership. The move comes after the company fell into administration in 2019, shuttering its store on the high street, partially due to the increase in streaming, which dented physical sales [...]
London rents surge to record high of more than £2,500 as experts warn of no let up in sight April 28, 2023 London rents have surged to their highest level on record and experts have warned there is little sign of the capital’s housing market improving any time soon, fresh figures out today reveal. The cost per month of renting a property in London climbed 14 per cent over the last year to £2,501, according to search [...]
Sunak’s challenge is to design flexible but firm rules for artificial intelligence April 28, 2023 ChatGPT has thrown artificial intelligence into the mainstream, and now it's Rishi Sunak's job to design rules which don't prevent its growth, but keep us safe.
A crackdown on betting firms can stop profits from problem gamblers April 28, 2023 Yesterday's proposals for limits on gambling should help betting firms stop making money off of problem gamblers, but we must also be careful to avoid blanket bans, writes Neil Banbury.
The success of LVMH is a testament to the resilience of the super rich April 28, 2023 There is a deeper trend behind LVMH’s growth over the past decade and more: the resilience of high-end consumers to almost any setback.
Over 50s and retirees want to work more, so long as it’s flexible April 28, 2023 A lack of flexible job opportunities is keeping over 50s out of the workforce and preventing retirees from returning to employment according to a survey. Insurance giant Zurich UK found nearly one in five UK adults over 50 were deterred from applying for new jobs because of a lack of flexible working opportunities. Timewise found [...]
