FTSE 100 close: ASOS and Centrica pop to crystalise strong start to 2023 January 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 built on gains yesterday that propelled to its highest level since 2018 after a series of British bellwether retailers posted a decent set of results this morning and the owner of British Gas skyrocketed. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.89 per cent at 7,794.04 points, while the domestically-focused, mid-cap FTSE 250 [...]
Marks & Spencer’s top 10 festive favourites: slow-cooked turkey, shortbread snow globes, light-up gin and shapewear to hold it in! January 12, 2023 Marks and Spencer saw a record Christmas trade during the latest festive period, with a record £80m sales alone on 23 December, the last Friday before Christmas. Incoming CEO Stuart Machin can also take comfort in a 7.2 per cent rise in the clothing and home category to £3.6bn. But it was the retailer’s Christmas [...]
This isn’t just a good Christmas: M&S retains ‘top turkey’ title as festive sales spike January 12, 2023 Once-troubled M&S continues to deliver positive news to investors with turkey sales helping give the firm a healthy Christmas period
FTSE 100 close: China reopening boosts Antofagasta and London miners January 9, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 has today extended its robust start to the new year, fuelled by mining giants clinching gains on investors betting commodity prices are on the rise as China dismantles pretty much all of its Covid-19 restrictions. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.33 per cent to close at 7,724.93 points on the opening day [...]
An introduction to Games Workshop, from Warhammer 40k to Blood Bowl December 27, 2022 Across the world Christmas stockings will have been filled with inch-high wizards and goblins made by Games Workshop. The Nottingham-based company has a share price higher than that of Marks & Spencer, and while supply chain issues and rising production costs have seen it slip from its pandemic peak, it continues to be one of [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Two years on, Brexit is still creating hurdles for businesses December 23, 2022 Brexit is again in the spotlight – is anyone surprised? – as a new survey published this week found that more than three quarters of companies doing business with the EU think the deal is of no help in growing their economic activity. More than half of the British Chambers of Commerce members said they [...]
Best of 2022: How Games Workshop founder Ian Livingstone created a £3bn giant December 19, 2022 In a leafy enclave of West London, Ian Livingstone is balanced precariously upon a chair in his study, grasping for a top-shelf box filled with incredibly rare figurines. The legs of the chair creak in protest, and there is a moment when I fear I may be responsible for the untimely death of the man [...]
Ed Warner: Bullingham must own England manager decision if it comes December 15, 2022 “The FA should only look at English managers if Gareth Southgate steps down.” “No, the FA should be prepared to hire a foreign coach.” Discuss ad nauseam. Now imagine you are Mark Bullingham, the Football Association’s chief executive, possibly (but not certainly) about to have to make an appointment whose success or failure would stand [...]
Feeding the nation, with robots: New funding round for farmers encourages automation December 14, 2022 A new round of farming funding to the tune of £12.5m will help those who feed the nation launch new automation and robotics projects. The latest chunk of a £270m programme launched last year was announced this morning by Defra (the department for environment food and rural affairs), in partnership with UK Research and Innovation [...]
Tesco invests further £14m into egg industry as avian flu sparks rationing November 26, 2022 Tesco is leading the charge in supporting egg suppliers, as British supermarkets begin rationing egg sales amid an outbreak of avian flu. Egg farmers in the UK have been wrestling with an outbreak of avian flu, on top of soaring inflation which has ramped up the price of feed and energy. Tesco has set aside [...]