June retail sales drop drags average to 20-year low July 9, 2019 Declining retail sales in June dragged the yearly average down to the lowest level in more than 20 years as this summer’s weather failed to match the 2018 heatwave. Total sales decreased by 1.3 per cent in June, compared to a rise of 2.3 per cent in the same month last year, according to research [...]
British Airways owner set for record £183m fine after 2018 data breach July 8, 2019 British Airways is gearing up to face a record £183m fine by authorities after a data breach caused it to lose more than 400,000 customers’ information. The airline’s owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), announced this morning it would make “any necessary appeals” in response to the penalty. Read more: British Airways data breach: How [...]
London equity capital markets remain resilient despite uncertainties July 8, 2019 London remained a bright spot for equity capital markets as investors shrugged off economic and political uncertainties in the first half of this year. Total funds raised in the UK in the first half of this year reached £19.2bn, up from 22 per cent in the second half of 2018. Read more: Private equity investment [...]
City Moves for 28 June – Who’s switching jobs? June 28, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Nomura, KPMG and City A.M. Nomura Nomura Asset Management has announced Ben Sackitey has joined the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) distribution team as business development director, focusing on UK wholesale, having previously spent seven years at Jupiter Asset Management. He will be supporting Nomura UK’s strategy to develop its [...]
UK economic growth expected to slow as Brexit and global tensions bite June 27, 2019 The UK’s economic growth is expected to slow as prolonged uncertainty over Brexit and global headwinds take their toll. Audit firm KPMG said today it expects the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to reach 1.4 per cent in 2019, falling to 1.3 per cent in 2020 – down 0.2 per cent since its last [...]
Large UK firms lagging behind on technology adoption, warn CBI and Oracle June 25, 2019 Large UK companies are adding to the country’s productivity crisis by failing to adopt new technologies which could boost their output, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and US computer firm Oracle have said. Read more: UK employers warn of mass job losses in digital revolution If just one in 100 business adopted a new [...]
No-deal Brexit could dent UK’s technology-driven growth, says KPMG June 24, 2019 If Britain leaves the European Union with a deal then new technologies will help UK trade more than triple to over £4 trillion by 2050, professional services firm KPMG said today. Read more: Mark Carney warns 150,000 firms not ready for no-deal Brexit Yet should the UK crash out with no deal, the total of [...]
City Moves for 20 June – Who’s switching jobs? June 19, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes KPMG, PwC and Publicis Sapient KPMG Kay Swinburne is due to join KPMG UK as vice chair of financial services from 1 July 2019. In her new role, Kay will chair KPMG’s risk and regulatory insight centre, which provides insights on risk and regulation. Kay will work closely with Karim Haji, [...]
Goals ‘blocks’ Mike Ashley probe into £12m accounting crisis June 19, 2019 Goals Soccer Centre is accused of having “stonewalled” calls from its largest shareholder, Sports Direct, for an external probe into its £12m accounting crisis. Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley had urged Goals to green light an external investigation over fears about the scale of the accounting issues. Read more: Goals warns of weaker results amid [...]
‘Ideological war’ over future of AI as businesses warn against robot tax June 15, 2019 Businesses and trade bodies have urged the government and industry to embrace the rise of robots and better prepare workers and future generations. The business, energy, and industrial strategy (Beis) committee is in the midst of an inquiry into the automation and the future of work in the UK. Read more: The robots are coming [...]