Retail restraint: John Lewis and Primark decline government help to play the long game July 16, 2020 For retail, the story of Covid-19 has been one of survival. Inevitably, the sector has looked to the government for assistance. Even the most hardened devotee of the free market has seen the Treasury’s coffers as a life belt to help companies get through the worst of the pandemic. Change and adaptation can come later. [...]
Major UK mobile networks vow not to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit July 13, 2020 The UK’s four major phone networks — EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 — have vowed not to reintroduce roaming charges when Britain leaves the bloc in January, after the government today urged Brits to check with their mobile carriers for price changes ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. The UK government today called on the [...]
FTSE bosses: Businesses ready to kickstart UK recovery July 3, 2020 This weekend the UK economy takes a few more important steps towards reopening and rebuilding. And in spite of the human toll the coronavirus has had, so far the public are strikingly optimistic about the future. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, two-thirds of people believe the pandemic will result in improvements in how we [...]
Covid Recovery Commission: FTSE 100 bosses unite to set UK economy back on track July 3, 2020 Some of the biggest names in UK business have teamed up to create a pressure group to ensure the economy emerges from coronavirus “stronger and fairer”, its members announced today. The group will be called the Covid Recovery Commission, and will involve the chairs of FTSE 100 powerhouses Tesco and Shell and the chief executives [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up 8.5 per cent as grocer ‘feeds the nation’ during lockdown July 1, 2020 Grocer Sainsbury’s today said that total first quarter sales increased by 8.5 per cent as the supermarket beat expectations despite the coronavirus pandemic. It said that although it was forecasting a £500m profit hit due to the crisis, stronger grocery sales and business rates relief would offset the shortfall. Shares in the grocer jumped initially [...]
Germany to shake up accounting industry following Wirecard collapse June 28, 2020 Germany is set to overhaul its accounting industry as part of measures to soften the fallout from the collapse of payments fintech Wirecard last week. Wirecard, which premiered on Germany’s main Dax index with a €24bn (£21.8bn) valuation just two years ago, filed for insolvency last week after auditors found a €1.9bn black hole in [...]
Outgoing Tesco boss Dave Lewis sees £6.4m pay packet voted down June 26, 2020 Dave Lewis’ tenure as Tesco’s chief executive looks set to end on a sour note after shareholders voted down the pay report that will give him £6.4m in compensation. Over 67 per cent of shareholders revolted against the report at the grocer’s annual meeting today, but as the vote is non-binding Lewis will still receive [...]
Tesco sales bounce amid lockdown spending spree June 26, 2020 Tesco said its sales for the first quarter rose almost nine per cent in the UK, as shoppers stocked up on essentials and hunkered down during the pandemic. Underlying sales in the UK rose 8.7 per cent in the 13 weeks to the end of May, reaching £9.9bn. It maintained its outlook on profit, saying [...]
Grocery sales surge in lockdown as shoppers go online June 23, 2020 Grocery sales in the UK grew 18.9 per cent in the four weeks up to 14 June, new data has shown, as online shopping and convenience stores continued to attract shoppers through the coronavirus lockdown period. According to data firm Kantar, online sales were the main driver of the rise, increasing 91 per cent over [...]
How do you solve a problem like Wirecard? June 19, 2020 It’s been a wild ride for Wirecard. When the German payments firm premiered on the prestigious blue-chip Dax index just two years ago, shares were priced at €200 apiece. Today, prices hit as low as €20 per share, forcing out chief executive Markus Braun and leaving the future of the digital payments firm in question. [...]