Who’s next? Retail boss Simon Wolfson urges Government to learn lessons of truck driver shortage September 29, 2021 Next boss Lord Wolfson has urged ministers to relax immigration rules to alleviate a crisis in “warehouses, restaurants, hotels, care homes and many seasonal industries.” The retail titan said that the current shortage of truck drivers was “foreseen, and widely predicted” and said Government needed to learn from its failure to act. The firm upgraded [...]
More than half a million Brits over the age of 50 will lose furlough support tomorrow September 29, 2021 As the furlough scheme comes to an end tomorrow, concerns are being raised about the number of workers over the age of 50 who are still furloughed. More than 540,000 people in the age group were on furlough in August, accounting for 35 per cent of the total, according to research. Rest Less, which offers [...]
Next hikes full-year outlook again after sales surge and profits swell to £347m September 29, 2021 Fashion giant Next has hiked its full-year outlook once more after surging sales, but warned over rising prices and staff shortages in the run-up to Christmas. It said supply chain woes had seen higher freight costs push up prices by about 2 per cent in the first half and cautioned this would continue into next [...]
Brexit-backing Next boss calls for speedy government intervention in staff crisis September 29, 2021 Next, headed by Brexit-backing boss Lord Wolfson, has called on the government to relax immigration rules to ensure its operations run smoothly this Christmas. “It’s a question of availability, we need a system that’s geared up to give more visas,” Wolfson told CityAM. Wolfson hit back at critics who said the country had got what [...]
Card Factory sees strong performance in H1 2021, but still turns a loss September 28, 2021 Card Factory has seen revenue surge during the first six months of the year, but the greeting cards retailer still ended up in the red. EBITDA surged by 202.6 per cent, reaching £23.6m in the first half of the year, while revenue jumped by 16.3 per cent year on year to stand at a healthy [...]
This A.M.: Tide is turning at the Bank of England while markets await Powell remarks September 28, 2021 Having started the day in positive fashion yesterday, European markets saw the majority of the early gains slowly disappear, and though most did finish higher, it was a somewhat half-hearted affair. The result of the German election went entirely as expected, with little prospect of a new government this side of Christmas. US markets were [...]
End of furlough: ‘Time for the UK economy to put its big girl pants on’ September 27, 2021 This week, the government’s £70bn furlough support scheme comes to an end. The end of the Job Retention Scheme, or furlough, will force organisations to make decisions regarding the future of furloughed employees. City A.M. sought the views of a number of small business owners about whether now is the correct time to remove the [...]
Brexit: Labour abandons free movement as shadow chancellor says ‘we moved on’ September 27, 2021 Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said this morning free movement is no longer a Labour party policy. The senior Labour figure told the Today Program: “We moved on, we voted for that deal last year… it was better than no deal. We’re not going to bring back free movement under a Labour Government.” In separate comments, [...]
This A.M.: Evergrande concerns take a back seat while German election ends in gridlock September 27, 2021 Despite hitting two-month lows last week, markets in Europe eventually managed to finish higher, on the week, reversing a run of three successive weekly losses. Concerns about contagion effects from Evergrande haven’t gone away, but they appear to have taken a back seat to worries about supply chain blockages, surging energy prices and rising inflationary [...]
Boris Johnson mulls calling in army to deliver fuel as pumps run dry after weekend of panic buying September 27, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be weighing the option to let soldiers drive fuel trucks as pumps ran dry after a weekend of panic buying. Emergency measures were triggered late last night, with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng choosing to suspend competition laws for the fuel industry to allow suppliers to target filling stations [...]