WH Smith to cut 1,500 jobs as high street and travel footfall plummets August 5, 2020 WH Smith is preparing to cut 1,500 jobs, the high street retailer announced this morning, as it warned it expects to post a full-year loss of £75m due to the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer said it is reviewing its store operations across both its travel and high street businesses due to lower high street footfall [...]
UK businesses grow at fastest rate in five years but employment drops August 5, 2020 The UK economy’s private sector rebounded at its fastest rate in five years in July, according to the final reading of a closely watched measure, as the government eased coronavirus restrictions. The IHS Markit/Cips composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) jumped to 57 in July from 47.7 in June. It was slightly lower than a “flash” [...]
SMMT: New UK car sales rise 11 per cent post-lockdown August 5, 2020 New UK car sales rose for the first time this year in July as dealerships enjoyed their first full month of trading since reopening after lockdown. According to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations rose 11.3 per cent last month as pent-up demand and special offers tempted consumers to [...]
Furlough schemes are failing to save UK businesses, body warns August 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s bumper spending plan to save British jobs has failed to help companies avoid an unemployment crunch as furlough support ends, businesses have warned. More than half of UK businesses surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said their cashflow had fallen in June, while 42 per cent also said sales had [...]
Loungers shares jump on ‘encouraging’ post-lockdown sales August 5, 2020 Shares in Loungers, the owner of the Cosy Club and Lounge brands, surged this morning after the casual dining chain said it is “encouraged” by trading levels since reopening last month. Loungers’ share price jumped 13.49 per cent to 122p after the company said it was “confident” of its future after the coronavirus pandemic. The [...]
Honda and BMW see profits slump in second quarter as lockdown hit sales August 5, 2020 Car giants Honda and BMW saw their profits hammered in the last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic hammered car sales amid widespread lockdowns. Japan’s Honda fell to an 113.7bn yen (£820m) loss in the last quarter, as sales of its vehicles plunged 40 per cent around the world. As a result of the dire quarterly [...]
Eurozone business activity grows at fastest pace in two years August 5, 2020 The Eurozone’s private sector grew at its fastest rate in over two years in July, according to survey data, with a key gauge of business activity improving slightly compared to an earlier estimate. The IHS Markit Eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index – which measures the health of the private economy – rose to 54.9 in [...]
Metro Bank shares tumble as crisis pushes challenger to £240m loss August 5, 2020 Metro Bank shares plunged more than 13.5 per cent this morning, after the challenger bank declared a £240.6m loss for the first six months of 2020. Its profit for the same period last year was £3.4m, representing a crash of more than 7,000 per cent. Today’s share price fall worsens an existing collapse of more [...]
Commerzbank warns of a loss in 2020 as Wirecard hits loan book August 5, 2020 German lender Commerzbank posted a 21 per cent drop in profit in the second quarter as loan loss provisions increased and warned it is set to fall to a loss in 2020. Provisions for credit losses rose to €469m as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Around €175m of the provision was related to scandal-hit [...]
