Exclusive: City broker ATFX ceases retail trading activities, closes Polish office January 5, 2021 City-based broker ATFX UK has closed its Polish satellite office following the decision to cease all services for retail clients. City A.M. spoke with four former employees in the firm’s Krakow office, who said all Poland-based ATFX employees had been made redundant at the beginning of December. In addition, several positions in both Hong Kong and London have [...]
UK supermarket sales soar to record-breaking £11.7bn in December January 5, 2021 UK supermarkets recorded their busiest ever month in December as grocery sales soared to £11.7bn amid bar and restaurant closures during the festive period. Morrisons was the strongest performer of the Big Four UK supermarkets, with sales jumping 13.1 per cent, followed by Tesco, which toasted a 11.1 per cent rise in sales. Sainsbury’s recorded [...]
Airline passenger numbers plummet over Christmas period January 5, 2021 The number of passengers flown by Ryanair and Wizz Air fell over 80 per cent for the second consecutive month in December as a dire year for the industry came to and end. The Irish flier carried just 1.9m people last month, down 83 per cent from 11.2m the year before. For the year as [...]
‘Stay home’: England in national Covid lockdown from tonight January 4, 2021 People living England have tonight been told to stay home for at least six weeks
FTSE 100 off to strong start to 2021 but Wall Street slips from record highs January 4, 2021 The FTSE 100 got the year off to a strong start today, bursting through the 6,600 point mark this morning, before closing the day up 1.8 per cent. However, Wall Street slipped back from record highs as the world’s markets got 2021 off to a fast start. In the first session of the new year [...]
Sterling hit by fresh UK lockdown fears January 4, 2021 Sterling weakened against the dollar this afternoon as fears of even tighter lockdown restrictions outweighed optimism surrounding a Brexit deal. Sterling had rallied after the last minute Brexit deal brought an end to the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s exit from the EU. But with Brexit finally over traders have turned their attention to the coronavirus pandemic [...]
Tested by Covid and Brexit, how have the UK’s borders coped over the New Year? January 4, 2021 After a final frantic negotiating push, the UK and EU agreed a free trade deal in the run-up to Christmas, much to the relief of all concerned. However, despite the deal being done, many were convinced that the New Year would see chaos across the UK’s ports and airports as travellers, businessmen and hauliers all [...]
Euro share trading exits London to new EU hubs January 4, 2021 In the first day of trading since Britain left the EU, trading in euro-denominated shares has shifted away from the City to new platforms. The City’s unfettered access to the bloc ended on New Year’s Eve, meaning EU banks and asset managers must use a platform inside the bloc for euro share trading. The Brexit [...]
UK PMIs: Manufacturing beats forecasts again on Brexit stockpiling boom January 4, 2021 UK manufacturing activity increased for the seventh straight month in December as factories brushed off the impact of the second national lockdown. The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers (PMI) index stood at 57.5 in December, with any score above the 50 mark indicating growth. The figure, a 37-month high, beat economists’ forecasts of a reading of 57.3 [...]
S4 Capital chases post-Brexit expansion with two more acquisitions January 4, 2021 S4 Capital today said it was ramping up its expansion plans after Brexit as the advertising firm unveiled a further two acquisitions. Sir Martin Sorrell’s marketing group has snapped up creative agency Decoded Advertising and data-driven performance marketing firm Metric Theory. It marks the latest in a flurry of acquisitions for S4, which has grown [...]