Long read: Tech firm with big ideas looks set for Shift into higher gear October 18, 2021 PICTURE the scene: a living room full of boxes, two flights of stairs and a hired van parked two streets away. After multiple trips – in both senses of the word – one is inclined to be a bit fed up. It’s the sort of moment that makes you wish somebody invented an easier way [...]
£2bn loss in 15 mins: THG in the dark over what caused share price drop of 35 per cent October 13, 2021 THG said today it still has not figured out what caused the online retailer’s share price to nosedive by 35 per cent during a shareholder meeting yesterday afternoon, wiping £2bn off its value. The firm’s management stressed they had not revealed any new information that might have caused such a major swing in the embattled [...]
Ocado invests £10m into self-driving tech startup Wayve October 6, 2021 Self-driving tech startup Wayve’s total funding raised has hit $60m following an investment from grocer Ocado. Ocado is investing £10m ($13.6m) in a partnership with Wayve that will develop autonomous grocery deliveries. An autonomous delivery trial will involve a number of Ocado delivery vans on busy London routes – with a human driver to oversee [...]
Concoction of risks weighs on London markets October 4, 2021 A concoction of risks threatening to scupper the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis weighed on London markets this morning. The capital’s premier index edged down 0.12 per cent to 7,018.60 points during the first couple of hours of trading today. Ongoing supply issues, severe shortages, accelerating inflation and the growing likelihood of central [...]
Government denies there is shortage of fuel amid BP and Esso closing gas stations September 24, 2021 The government is urging Brits “buy fuel as normal”, after the ongoing lorry driver shortage issue reached gas stations yesterday. BP said a number of its filling stations are closed due to a lack of fuel available, while Esso owner ExxonMobil also said a “small number” of its Tesco Alliance petrol forecourts have been impacted. [...]
Hot under the collar: Ocado pins revenue tumble on warehouse fire September 14, 2021 Online supermarket Ocado has pinned a revenue dive over the last quarter on a fire at one of its London warehouses, in its latest trading update today. The fire, at its south London Erith Customer Fulfilment Centre in July, cost Ocado some £35m in revenue, it said in a statement – the equivalent of 300,000 [...]
Give your business a boost and ‘move on up’ to North East England September 8, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has seen organisations in all sectors find new, innovative ways of working. From remote and hybrid offices, to the adoption of new digital technologies like video conferencing and cloud computing; the pace of change has been unprecedented. Another significant trend – one that was well established before the pandemic but has continued [...]
Tax hikes pull London markets down September 7, 2021 Sliding financial stocks pulled London markets down today after prime minister Boris Johnson announced a hike to dividend taxes and national insurance. The capital’s premier index fell, the FTSE 100, slipped 0.48 per cent to 7,152.75 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 had 0.62 per cent shaved off its value to fall to 24,097.48 points. [...]
Weak US jobs growth tempers Wall Street September 3, 2021 A weaker-than-expected US jobs report for August weighed heavily on Wall Street’s main benchmarks today. The S&P 500 slipped 0.09 per cent to 4,532.82 points, after closing at a record high yesterday. The Dow Jones lost 0.11 per cent to hit 4,531.09 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq provided some relief on Wall Street, rising 0.12 per [...]
Surging tech megacaps power Nasdaq to another peak September 1, 2021 A surge among tech megacaps powered the Nasdaq to another record high during early trading on Wall Street today. The US’s tech-heavy benchmark has since fallen back from its fresh peak, but is still up 0.65 per cent to 15.358.32 points during mid-morning exchanges. The blue-chip S&P 500 jumped 0.18 per cent to 4,531.01 points [...]