JP Morgan to book £762m loss on Russian assets April 4, 2022 Wall Street giant JP Morgan may lose as much as $1bn (£762m) on its exposure to Russia, its chief Jamie Dimon warned today in his annual letter to shareholders. The investment banking titan has been part of a concerted effort by the West’s biggest corporates to ditch Russian assets and pull out of the country [...]
Government urged to ‘come clean’ over its plans to change workers’ rights in controversial employment bill April 4, 2022 The Government has been urged to “come clean” over its plans for workers’ rights after news emerged of a delay in bringing forward an Employment Bill. Union TUC reacted with fury to reports that ministers are going to drop the long-awaited Bill from next month’s Queen’s Speech. The TUC said it will be the second [...]
Raising a toast: Beer sales return to pre-pandemic glory as pub goers ditch wine and spirits April 4, 2022 Beer sales have brewed a comeback with 1.1bn more pints sold last year than in 2020. Some 4.6bn litres of beer was sold in 2021, up 13 per cent on 2020. Lockdown drinkers opted for spirits, causing beer sales to plummet, but pints regained popularity when pubs reopened. Wine and spirits saw a drop of [...]
Cost of living squeeze deals financial crisis level blow to Brits’ optimism April 4, 2022 Brits’ optimism is eroding at the fastest pace since the financial crisis amid the tightest cost of living squeeze in a generation, reveals a closely watched survey released today. A combination of inflation scaling to its highest rate in three decades, tax hikes, swelling energy bills and weak wage growth have bound together to deal [...]
Lush lathers up for return to profit amid buy out of US partner April 3, 2022 Soap-seller Lush has bought out its US partner in a bid to almost double its sales in the UK. According to The Financial Times, the high street name is eager to pump cash into rebuilding its UK operations after they took a hit amid Covid restrictions. The retailer returned to profit in its last financial [...]
Asda chair hammers government for ‘tin eared’ response to cost of living crisis April 3, 2022 The government has delivered a “tin-eared and slow” response to the UK’s cost of living crisis, according to the chair of Asda. Tory peer Lord Stuart Rose said chancellor Rishi Sunak should put together a new package to ease the pain of soaring costs for households, adding that “the main problem that the government has [...]
Sunak and Javid stand by NI rise days before it comes into place April 3, 2022 Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have come out today to outline their support for this month’s hike in National Insurance, despite the growing cost of living crisis. Sunak said the £12bn-a-year increase in health and social care spending, which will come from the tax hike, was a “top priority” for the government. The chancellor said [...]
Weekend Read: Most Brits believe their last pay rise was unfair April 2, 2022 Two in three workers think their most recent pay rise was unfair and didn’t reflect their job performance Despite this, only one in nine are actively job hunting and interviewing for a new role, new research by HR and payroll software provider CIPHR suggests. The pay rise study, based on a survey of over 1,000 employed British [...]
Tech Weekly: Investment boom in rapid grocery, and FCA gives breathing space for UK crypto firms April 1, 2022 Today Nasson talks to Lily Russell-Jones and Charlie Conchie about this week’s most important stories in crypto and fintech. Lily explains the FCA’s decision to extend its deadline for crypto firms seeking regulatory approval; and Charlie goes through the latest valuations and funding rounds for rapid grocery delivery firms, and outlines whether their high-spend model [...]
Which FTSE 100 stocks should you keep an eye on? April 1, 2022 Despite the FTSE 100 rising last month, rising issues could cause them to fall in April. But some may resist the trend. BAE Systems (LON:BA) BAE Systems shares are up 30% to 722p year-to-date, after it was boosted by sentiment over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and encouraging full-year results which saw sales grow by 5% to [...]