Babcock expects to post a loss this year due to Covid-19 pressures February 25, 2022 British defence contractor Babcock said it expects to record a significant loss in the financial year 2021/22, due to the impacts of Covid-19 on the global economy. The London engineering company said its efforts to manage its costs, in the face of supply chain pressures and soaring inflation, would deliver savings of £20m this financial [...]
Energy prices spike after Russia invades Ukraine February 25, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full-blown incursion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring raising fears the UK's living squeeze will tighten.
‘Perfect storm’ of headwinds crimps UK optimism February 25, 2022 A “perfect storm” of headwinds gripping households with the tightest financial squeeze in a generation is eroding Brits’ optimism, reveals a closely watched survey published today. Concern about the impact soaring inflation will have on household finances drove UK consumer confidence to its lowest level in over a year, plummeting to minus 26 points this [...]
Behind the story: the cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine February 25, 2022 Britain is more sheltered than other countries from the massive spike in energy prices that could unfold as a result of Europe’s overreliance on Russian gas. Customers in the UK will at least in the short term be protected from higher prices by the energy price cap. But if the cost of energy continues to spiral [...]
Worst January since 2009 for UK automotive production February 25, 2022 Last month was the worst January since 2009 for the UK automotive production, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed. Car production fell 20.1 per cent to 68,790 units – 17,262 vehicles down compared with the same time last year. Domestic and overseas production slumped to 30.8 and 17.5 per cent, [...]
Darktrace: Dips and Dives February 24, 2022 For a cyber security firm Darktrace’s reputation has been anything but secure. As Jack Stockdale, CTO and founding partner, told City A.M.: “One minute you can be the tech darling, the next minute you’re not. Then, suddenly, you are again!”
What’s behind value’s recent renaissance? February 24, 2022 The debate over the value and growth investment styles has been intense in the opening weeks of this year. Value’s relative outperformance has been eye-catching, with the MSCI World Value index returning -1.3% in January compared to -9.3% for MSCI World Growth. In some ways though, this is just a continuation of last year’s oscillations [...]
Profit margins hit hard as pricing strategies struggle to keep pace with supply chain issues, Covid and Brexit February 24, 2022 A vast majority of UK businesses are struggling to manage market fluctuations caused by supply issues, Covid-19 and Brexit and UK organisations lose out on £451,000 every year on lost productivity, thereby hitting profit margins, according to new data shared with City A.M. this afternoon. A recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of intelligent pricing [...]
Rishi Sunak to outline argument for tax cuts in keynote speech February 23, 2022 Rishi Sunak will promise to cut taxes in a keynote speech today, with the chancellor to hit out at “flippant” calls for him to slash taxes immediately without considering the effect on planned spending. The chancellor will say at the annual Mais lecture that “I am going to deliver a lower tax economy, but I [...]
Bank of England Governor Bailey doubles down on pleas to go easy on pay demands February 23, 2022 The Governor of the Bank of England yesterday doubled down on his pleas to workers to temper pay demands despite households facing the worst cost of living squeeze in a generation. Andrew Bailey added to his previous comments when responding to a grilling by MPs, also calling on businesses to exercise restraint during price setting [...]