Axe the EU’s import tax to save consumers money February 25, 2025 More than five years on from Brexit we are still sticking to EU rules that see Brits paying over the odds for branded goods that manufacturers are happy to sell cheaper elsewhere, says Martin Howe KC This month we have seen rising inflation and the threat that the Bank of England will have to defer [...]
Retail job vacancies have almost halved in a year February 24, 2025 The number of advertised jobs in retail has almost halved in the last year as companies continue to buckle down on costs. Job vacancies have fallen 42.25 per cent in the last year, the most significant drop in any UK sector, according to Adzuna’s latest jobs report. There has been a contraction in retail for [...]
How Virgin Media 02 keeps your data running 24/7 February 20, 2025 City AM was invited inside one of Virgin Media 02 (VM02)'s largest data centres in the UK, located in Slough.
Spudway: Subway expands into jacket potatoes in bid to boost UK sales February 19, 2025 Subway has revamped its menu in the latest change to its marketing strategy as it looks to boost UK sales. The fast-food giant will trial a customisable jacket potato in 170 UK stores, citing the humble potato’s social media “renaissance” and “fame on social media”. Deniz Safa, Director of Innovation & Culinary at Subway EMEA, said [...]
Barclays shares near post-financial crisis high February 18, 2025 Shares in Barclays closed in on a post-financial crisis high on Tuesday morning. The stock has surged higher over the past 12 months due to improved investor sentiment towards the banking sector thanks to higher interest rates. Shares rallied to a high of 310.20p following market open, touching highs not witnessed since the rebound of [...]
‘This is Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax’: Labour warned inheritance tax protests won’t stop February 17, 2025 The Labour government’s reforms to farmers’ inheritance tax announced in the Autumn Budget has been branded as “Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax”. William Lees-Jones, who owns and runs Manchester-based JW Lees, which has produced real ale since 1828, added that the Prime Minister is “losing the argument and feeling rattled”. The pubs boss has liked the policy, which [...]
‘Temporary share price glitch’ sends Barclays shares lower February 13, 2025 Shares in Barclays slumped on Thursday morning after the bank posted its annual results. The Big Four bank reported a £8.1bn pre-tax profit, up 24 per cent from 2024, surpassing analyst expectations of £8.07bn. However, its stock dropped five per cent, as low as 290.34p after the market opened. Still, despite the drop, Peel Hunt [...]
Barclays beats expectations after Tesco Bank takeover February 13, 2025 Barclays surpassed analyst expectations in its annual results report on Thursday, after a strong year for its investment banking arm and day one benefits of its Tesco Bank takeover. The FTSE 100 bank reported a pretax profit of £1.7bn in the fourth quarter, ahead of the £1.62bn expected by analysts. For 2024 as a whole, the [...]
Retailers unite to warn Treasury on ‘perfect storm’ of costs February 11, 2025 A heavyweight group of retailers has warned the Treasury that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk in the retail sector due to unsustainable cost hikes this year. It’s the latest in a long string of warnings from the retail sector, which has been vocal about the coming damage to jobs and investment on [...]
Hyper-personalisation: Has AI finally made retail’s ‘holy grail’ possible? February 8, 2025 Hyper-personalisation has long been the holy grail of retail: to recreate the customer experience of a local, everyone-knows-your-name store on a global scale. Now, with the combination of data tracking, AI and our ever-increasing tendency to consume online content, genuinely personally-tailored ads are just about within touching distance. These ads, introduced in their earliest form [...]