Topps Tiles shares plunge on half-year profit warning February 27, 2020 Topps Tiles issued a warning today that first half profit will fall “materially” below market expectations due to Brits dodging home improvement and a 2019 full of Brexit uncertainty. Shares plunged 25 per cent in early trading, after investors had expected a profit in the range of £13.5m to £14.5m. The home improvement retailer said [...]
Keep calm and drink Yorkshire Tea until the Twitter storm blows over February 27, 2020 Another day, another Twitter pile-on. This time, the warriors of social justice turned their ire on homely hot-drink merchants Yorkshire Tea. Their equally voluble online opponents rallied to its defence. Why? Because Yorkshire Tea had the temerity to be, unbeknownst to them, our new chancellor’s choice of brew. Or, more precisely, the drink selected by [...]
Britain’s political landscape has shifted, but think tanks are struggling to adapt February 27, 2020 Think tanks occupy a unique place in the policy world. Neither academic institutions nor the parties tasked with policy implementation, their role has traditionally been as independent “policy labs”, growing ideas for politicians to use when in power. Yet, as we are all aware, the political landscape has shifted in recent years. And think tanks [...]
UK car production falls for the fifth consecutive month in January February 27, 2020 British car production declined for a fifth consecutive month in January, but an increase in overseas orders gave the struggling sector some cause for cheer after a challenging 2019. According to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), output fell 2.1 per cent on a month-by in the first month of [...]
Brexit: EU calls Downing Street’s bluff on standards February 26, 2020 Brussels accepts Downing Street’s pledge not to cut red tape in a bid to become “some sort of Singapore-on-Thames” – but there must still be common “ground rules” in order to strike a trade deal, Michel Barnier has said. In a shift away from increasingly hostile briefings ahead of talks next week, the EU’s chief [...]
Serco grows revenue for first times since 2013 as outsourcer puts past behind it February 26, 2020 Outsourcing giant Serco posted its first year of revenue growth since 2013 and paid its first dividend since 2014 as the firm entered the new decade in style. Shares in the firm rose over three per cent over the day’s trading. The figures Revenue grew 15 per cent in 2019, from £2.8bn in 2018 to [...]
Sadiq Khan backs Sir Keir Starmer for Labour leader February 26, 2020 Sadiq Khan has endorsed Sir Keir Starmer to be the next leader of the Labour Party. The London mayor finally came out for the favourite today, after refusing to publicly back any of the leadership hopefuls for the first two months of the campaign. It also comes after Starmer was the only one of the [...]
Taylor Wimpey warns of squeezed profit margin for 2020 February 26, 2020 Flat house prices amid 2019’s prolonged Brexit uncertainty hurt Taylor Wimpey’s profit margin last year, with no recovery expected in 2020, it revealed today. The figures Taylor Wimpey’s profit before tax climbed 3.1 per cent year on year to £835.9m in 2019. But weak house price growth and building costs knocked the firm’s operating profit [...]
Heathrow soars to ninth year of growth as third runway decision looms February 26, 2020 Heathrow Airport posted its ninth consecutive year of passenger growth as stakeholders gear up for tomorrow’s judicial review decision on whether the third runway expansion project can go ahead. The transport hub also said that though it was closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak, it does “not expect [it] to have a material negative impact on [...]
Another UK-EU battle seems almost certain February 26, 2020 Remember the summer of 2018? The sun shining almost constantly, England’s footballers marching to the latter stages of a major international tournament, and interminable battles between Westminster and Brussels over the future relationship between the UK and the European Union. Alas, the first two can’t be guaranteed — though we deserve some vitamin D after [...]