M&S’s FTSE exit is a symbol of its terminal decline September 6, 2019 Archie Norman, the Marks & Spencer chairman, put a brave face this week on the retailer’s demotion from the FTSE 100. Nothing to see here, he said: the business was exactly the same on the day after its relegation. Focusing on it was the reddest of herrings. In a sense, he is right – but [...]
Hot weather fails to heat up high street retail sales in August September 6, 2019 Bricks and mortar retailers suffered a further blow last month as soaring temperatures failed to heat up high street sales. Like-for-like in store sales dropped 0.1 per cent in August from a base of minus 2.7 per cent in the same month last year as retailers were unable to convert rising footfall into purchases. Read [...]
Mike Pence: The minute the UK is out of the EU, the US is in September 5, 2019 The US Vice President has tonight pledged a free trade deal with the UK “immediately upon the completion of Brexit”, saying Donald Trump stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the new Prime Minister. Speaking at a black-tie dinner at Guildhall in the City of London this evening, Mike Pence told business chiefs the country was like a phoenix [...]
PM: I’d rather be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit September 5, 2019 The Prime Minister has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than delay Brexit – shortly before a police officer appeared to faint behind him. Boris Johnson, who gave his speech more than an hour later than planned, told assembled journalists in Yorkshire that an extension would cost £1bn a month and be [...]
Wework considers cutting its listing valuation by half September 5, 2019 Wework’s parent company is considering dramatically slashing the valuation it will seek when it sells shares on the public stock market for the first time. Read more: Wework adds woman to board after criticism ahead of listing New York-based the We Company is deliberating seeking a valuation of just over $20bn (£16.2bn), people with knowledge [...]
Salaries for new roles jump despite economic uncertainty September 5, 2019 UK employers ramped up salaries last month as they looked to snap up the best new recruits in a notoriously difficult period for hiring. Read more: Digital sector salaries outstrip UK average but gender pay gap remains Salaries for new roles rose 38 per cent year-on-year in August, according to the latest job market data [...]
Global stock markets climb after US and China agree to talks September 5, 2019 Stock markets have risen around the world today after the US and China agreed to resume talks over their trade war. Read more: Donald Trump says China talks going well as he turns fire on EU China’s commerce ministry today said high-level negotiations will begin in October, with preparatory meetings scheduled for the middle of [...]
Brexit: What do the public think will happen next? September 5, 2019 No-deal Brexit is the most likely outcome from parliament’s current stalemate, according to the public. The UK is expected to crash out of the EU without a deal, 72 per cent of Brits believe, Yougov’s survey of 1,639 people found. The pollster asked people what outcomes they believe are most realistic, rather than what outcome [...]
Johnson tells Pence: No deal on NHS – or chlorinated chicken September 5, 2019 Boris Johnson has told the US Vice President that the NHS will not be “on the table” during post-Brexit trade talks. Speaking as he welcomed Mike Pence to Downing Street today, the Prime Minister told journalists: “The National Health Service is not on the table as far as negotiations go.” He also joked: We’re not [...]
Prime Minister to seek election again next week September 5, 2019 MPs on both sides of the house are readying themselves for a second attemp by the Prime Minister to trigger election, after an unsuccessful last night. Boris Johnson failed to get a two-thirds majority as required under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, after Labour whipped its MPs to abstain. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg [...]