The Notebook: Reforming the NHS, how the world got rich, and tax breaks for the over-50s January 16, 2023 The notebook is a place for interesting people to say interesting things. Today, it’s the turn of John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance Reforming the NHS no longer so unsayable? As the NHS endures its annual winter crisis – before it moves into its inevitable summer crisis – thousands of doctors are reportedly [...]
Reasons to be cheerful on the UK economy? They’re there, if you’re looking for them January 16, 2023 Nobody likes to be negative, so perhaps that explains the surprising survey results on our front page today. Perhaps confidence in the economy is coming not from sensible forecasting but from unguarded new year’s optimism. Or, to borrow a line from Blackadder’s General Melchett, “that’s the spirit: if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed [...]
Ocado set to post grocery growth in latest festive update January 15, 2023 Ocado investors will be hoping it becomes the latest retailer to indicate that consumer spending over the key festive quarter was more resilient than many expected. The online retail giant is set to post an increase in grocery sales over the latest period when it updates investors on Tuesday 17 January. The firm’s technology operation [...]
British retailers cheer Christmas sales, but City analysts warn of coming storm January 15, 2023 Britain’s largest retailers kicked off 2023 strongly last week, posting better than expected Christmas sales, signalling the consumer is holding up a bit better than feared. Tesco’s like for like sales were 7.9 per cent higher, while Marks and Spencer pocketed a 7.2 per cent rise. Sainsbury’s also posted record Christmas sales. Those bumper numbers, [...]
Direct Line chief rushes to calm investors after shares collapse January 15, 2023 Direct Line’s share price “doesn’t reflect the intrinsic value of the company,” the insurer’s chief executive Penny James has said, after shares in the firm plummeted last week. In an interview with The Times, James instead said Direct Line still has “huge earnings potential” as she said she feels “very positive about the future prospects”. [...]
Week ahead: First data dump of 2023 to reveal whether UK tipped into recession January 15, 2023 The first big data dump of 2023 in the coming week is set to unveil more clues on whether the UK economy entered a recession in the final months of last year. City traders are hoping fresh inflation figures out on Wednesday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will show price pressures are still [...]
Scotland set for Westminster-led unionist push – as Sunak vows to keep country together January 14, 2023 Rishi Sunak has said he wants to “tangibly and visibly” demonstrate the UK Government’s presence in Scotland. The Prime Minister has been in Inverness this week as part of a two-day trip north of the border, during which he announced two new green freeports in Scotland. On Thursday night, he met with First Minister Nicola [...]
FTSE 100: London edges ever closer to a new record high January 14, 2023 The FTSE 100 fell short of hitting some all-time highs on Friday after a strong start to the year. Pushing up to fresh five-year highs, the FTSE hit its highest score since the record points it had tallied in May 2018. It closed at 7,844.07 on Friday after briefly peaking at 7,864.95 a little earlier [...]
Blackrock’s profit and AUM down but world’s largest fund manager reports net inflows of $146bn January 13, 2023 Blackrock reported an 18 per cent drop in its fourth-quarter profit blaming an ‘operating environment unlike anything we’ve seen in decades’. The world’s largest fund manager still managed to net increase inflows, which totalled $146bn during the three months ending 31 December. Blackrock’s net income income fell 23 per cent to $1.3bn (£1.1bn) from $1.6bn [...]
Looking at both sides of the coin: a technical view of CBDCs January 13, 2023 Dr Carlos Leon - a director at crypto platform FNA - puts forward the case for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).