Topps Tiles snags majority stake in online tiling supplier March 10, 2022 Topps Tiles has snagged a majority stake in an online tiling supplier, in a bid to bolster its retail and commercial brands. The London-listed tiling company has acquired a 60 per cent share of the supplier for £5.3m in cash. Chief executive Rob Parker added that the deal also moves the company closer to its [...]
Higher return rates impact Boohoo’s sales growth March 10, 2022 Boohoo said today its net sales growth in the fourth quarter of FY22 was impacted by Brits’ post-pandemic ‘buy before you try attitude’ . The company explained that the higher rate of items returned was due to changing consumption patterns, as people shifted from buying more ‘athleisure’ during the pandemic to mixing it up with [...]
Staff at John Lewis to share £46m bonus pot after profits rebound by nearly 40 per cent March 10, 2022 Staff at the John Lewis Partnership will share a £46m bonus pot after the retail giant saw underlying annual profits rebound by 38 per cent. The group, which also owns upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose, said it will pay a bonus of 3% to its employees, or one-and-a-half weeks’ pay, and increase wages by 2 per [...]
Editorial: Shocks happen – and our institutions weren’t ready for this one March 10, 2022 And Rishi Sunak thought the hard bit was over. Wearing the scars of a two-year fight against a global pandemic, he may have thought he’d have some respite to get the public finances in order in time for some pre-election giveaways. That increasingly looks a long prospect. It may feel glib to discuss such matters [...]
Wages continue to surge amid tightening jobs market March 10, 2022 Strong competition for workers amid a tight jobs market is accelerating starting pay at near record highs, reveals a fresh survey published today. A shortage of available workers is driving businesses to hike pay to out muscle competitors from poaching top talent, according to research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. Starting [...]
Russia-Ukraine war to take tax cuts off the table, IFS warns March 10, 2022 Even higher inflation triggered by Russia invading Ukraine will take promised tax cuts off the table, a leading think tank warned today. Surging energy prices driven by concerns over the security of oil and gas supplies amid a ramping up in tensions between Moscow and the West will eat into Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s room to [...]
London’s top indexes snap back sharply after bruising sessions March 9, 2022 London’s top indexes snapped back yesterday after booking heavy losses due to fears over the economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war sending investors fleeing. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index soared 2.79 per cent to above 7,000 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Market cap of gold backed crypto tokens surpasses $1bn March 9, 2022 Demand for gold is booming against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop - gold backed crypto tokens are proving to be no exception.
The City View: Energy market volatility March 9, 2022 Today Andy Silvester chats to City A.M. reporters Jack Barnett and Nicholas Earl about volatile energy prices potentially becoming even more so; inflation forecasts, rising consumer prices and what the Bank of England will do vis-à-vis rate hikes; and yesterday’s nickel big short and its impact on the London Metal Exchange. Andy also goes through [...]
How stock markets perform after heavy falls March 9, 2022 While public attention has understandably focused on the grave humanitarian consequences of the invasion of Ukraine, global markets have reflected investors’ concerns about financial and economic impacts. Our live blog on the Ukraine crisis will be updated regularly throughout the week, it can be found here. To date the current crisis has seen major markets fall [...]