Shop prices drop as retailers compete for consumers’ pounds July 28, 2021 Prices for products in shops dipped over the last year driven by strong competition between retailers to attract consumers, according to new figures released today. The British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ’s latest shop price index shows prices in shops fell 1.2 per cent annually in July. Read more: UK inflation hits 2.5 per cent in [...]
Covid recovery: IMF predicts UK economy to grow fastest of all G7 nations July 27, 2021 The UK economy is set to recover much faster than expected from the Covid crisis as a resurgence in consumer spending and the success of the vaccine rollout boosted official forecasts. According to the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report, the UK economy will expand seven per cent this year, a sharp increase [...]
Labour’s Rachel Reeves vows to restore trading ties with EU if elected July 27, 2021 Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has vowed to renew and enhance the UK-EU trading partnership if Labour is elected at the next General Election. Reeves said Boris Johnson had a “blind spot” while dealing with Brussels post-Brexit and that “gaps have not been filled” in the UK-EU trade deal in the past seven months. British exports [...]
Tech stocks – slow-down or slump? July 27, 2021 With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the shift towards a digital-first world; technology stocks rose to all-time highs in 2020, as people spent more time online.1 However, as economies have begun to reopen following the rollout of highly effective coronavirus vaccines; tech stocks sold-off as investors rotated towards sectors set to benefit from reopening. In this [...]
Rishi Sunak: ‘Britcoin’ will not replace cash July 26, 2021 Rishi Sunak has hosed down any suggestion that the government could replace cash with a digital currency dubbed “Britcoin”. Sunak said in a LinkedIn post that the government has “not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a [Central Bank Digital Currency] in the UK”, after reports over the weekend suggested the chancellor wants [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: why bitcoin reminds me of the office’s appeal July 26, 2021 In the UK, 19 July was what some people called “Freedom Day”, as most Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. For the millions who have been working from home during this pandemic, this marks a significant change as the government has recommended a gradual return to the office. There are benefits to WFH and WHO Here at [...]
Watchdog slams KPMG for ‘unacceptable’ bank audits for third year running July 26, 2021 KPMG has been called out for failing to meet standards in its bank audits for the third year in a row, by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in a review published on Friday, that found that a third of large company audits by the biggest UK firms failed to meet standards. The industry watchdog called [...]
Cash holdings: UK corporates’ £109bn warchest increasingly a rival to private equity in M&A July 26, 2021 UK corporates have seen their aggregate net cash holdings rise from £20bn to £109bn since March 2020 and the start of the Covid pandemic, a jump of 500 per cent. The build up in cash balances has been so dramatic that UK corporates are increasingly seen as a serious rival to private equity funds in [...]
Vaccine rollout and surging consumer spending to fuel fastest economic growth since WW2 July 26, 2021 The rapid rollout of Covid vaccines and a surge in consumer spending has prompted forecasters to improve their outlook for the UK economy. Forecasts published by EY Item Club predict that the UK economy will grow 7.6 per cent this year, the fastest pace of expansion since 1941. The recent burst in consumer spending triggered [...]
MPs warn of ‘huge financial losses’ as scam ads left out of online safety laws July 23, 2021 A string of cross-party MPs have blasted the government’s failure to include paid-for adverts in its upcoming online safety laws, warning of “huge financial losses” to the public. In a joint letter to the prime minister, the Treasury Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee said fraudulent online ads were doing immense harm and urged [...]