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 [...]
European factory ‘summer slump’ continues through August September 2, 2019 European factory activity stagnated further in August, as a gloomy spell for companies was extended by a continued fall in demand. Manufacturing output fell for the seventh month in a row, according to IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a closely-followed measure of sector activity. Economists recorded a PMI score of 47, where anything below [...]
FTSE edges higher as relief over deflating trade war tensions sinks in August 30, 2019 Britain’s FTSE100 stock index nudged higher this morning as a relief rally over China deflating trade war tensions entered a second day. The blue-chip index was given a further boost by a continued slide in the pound’s value, which helped to boost exporters. China’s foreign ministry said this morning that it was continuing to hold [...]
City Moves for 29 August – Who’s switching jobs at Shieldpay, Tissue Regenix and the Law Debenture Corporation? August 29, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Shieldpay, Tissue Regenix and the Law Debenture Corporation. Shieldpay London-based fintech firm Shieldpay has announced the appointment of Nick Ogden and Jim Cowles as independent non-executive directors to the company’s board. Nick has founded and led multiple high-profile financial companies, including payments processing company Worldpay, a pioneer in the payments industry [...]
One day to go until the PPI deadline: How to make a PPI claim August 28, 2019 Consumers are rushing to make last-minute PPI claims as tomorrow’s deadline looms. Here’s how to get your claim submitted before the cut-off time of 11.59pm on 29 August. What is PPI? PPI – or Payment Protection Insurance – was intended to cover loan repayments if the person who took out the loan became unable to [...]
Firefighters put out blaze at another Ocado warehouse August 22, 2019 Firefighters were called to put out a small fire at an Ocado warehouse last night, just months after a fire at one of its flagship sites caused nearly £100m in damage. A waste packaging container caught fire, the company said in a statement this morning. Read more: Losses deepen as Ocado reveals cost of Andover [...]
How the offices of tomorrow can prepare for climate change August 22, 2019 Until relatively recently, climate change was spoken about as an abstraction. We knew it was a serious problem, but most people put it to the back of their minds. It felt too distant, too remote. We would agree on the need for “action”, nod sagely, then get back to our day jobs. That time has [...]
Boris and Priti don’t quite grasp how complicated ‘ending free movement’ will be August 22, 2019 “Freedom of movement will end” if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, according to the government. At one level, this is a statement of the obvious – in a legal sense, free movement is an EU concept. Under Theresa May’s deal, which provided for a transition period until December 2020, [...]
Why we should be worried that many women are reliant on their partners’ pensions August 20, 2019 We may have come a long way since the days when women were the property of men, but we still face some huge challenges when it comes to addressing financial gender inequality. According to a new report from Fidelity, 12 per cent of married women plan to rely on their partner’s pension in retirement, while [...]
City Moves for 19 August – Who’s switching jobs at 11:FS, Severfield and Sedgwick? August 19, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes 11:FS, Severfield and Sedgwick. 11:FS 11:FS, the challenger firm that builds digitally-native financial services through technology, product and design expertise, has announced that Michael Curds has joined the firm as head of talent. He brings a wealth of experience in scaling digtally-native business, having most recently led the talent team at [...]