The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on inflation, Ocado’s woes, and why Ted Lasso is a blessed relief March 28, 2023 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned firms against rising prices to offset inflation. He told the BBC, “please understand if we get inflation embedded, interest rates will have to go up further and higher inflation really benefits nobody.” The latest UK inflation rate for February surprised economists by picking up again to [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index bumps higher ahead of key inflation and wage numbers February 13, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off the week in busy fashion today ahead of a busy week of data that will provide more clues on the health of the UK economy. The capital’s premier index closed 0.83 per cent higher today at 7,947.60 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with [...]
FTSE 100 close: Standard Chartered, BP and AstraZeneca continue London index’s surge February 9, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 continued its relentless upward march today, led higher by bank Standard Chartered and oil giant BP extending a week-long rally. The capital’s premier index rose 0.33 per cent to 7,911.16 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK, was broadly flat at [...]
Ben & Jerry’s owner Unilever: Turnover soars to £53bn driven by price increases against backdrop of inflation February 9, 2023 Unilever price hikes helped the firm deliver turnover of more than £50bn last year, as the group had a nine per cent increase underlying sales growth for 2022. The British firm – which owns brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Hellman’s and Magnum – said that turnover also increased 14.5 per cent to €60.1bn [...]
Week ahead: UK economy to narrowly avoid recession but GDP still expected to shrink February 5, 2023 The UK economy narrowly avoided a recession at the end of last year, new official figures out this week are expected to reveal. City traders think new GDP numbers from the Office for National Statistics on Friday will show the economy contracted 0.3 per cent in December, meaning the UK will have just about skirted [...]
Unilever appoints new Dutch boss to deliver “step up” in performance at embattled giant January 30, 2023 A Dutch dairy boss who has sat as a non-executive board member at Unilever since last year will move into the CEO role at the consumer giant. Hein Schumacher has led the dairy firm Royal FrieslandCampina, an £11bn business operating in over 40 countries, since 2018. Schumacher’s appointment comes after embattled boss Alan Jope announced [...]
NYSE temporarily halts trading after glitch caused abnormal swings in share prices January 24, 2023 The New York Stock Exchange halted trading in dozens of stocks following market open this morning after an apparent glitch in its system. Morgan Stanley, AMC Entertainment, McDonalds and Unilever were among the major firms to have had their shares frozen by the exchange, according to its website. A number of other stocks were frozen [...]
BP, Siemens and PepsiCo branded ‘hypocrites’ for donating to Ukraine while failing to fully exit Russia January 22, 2023 BP, Siemens and PepsiCo have all donated millions to Ukraine while at the same time failing to fully exit Russia, new research shows. The three multinationals have been branded “hypocrites” and sit alongside 13 other top firms that have both given aid to Ukraine while also retaining their links to the Russian Federation. The research [...]
Mark Kleinman: My bold predictions for 2023 in the City – from Natwest to Spurs January 11, 2023 After the political and economic events of 2022, the idea of being able to predict anything with confidence seems even more outlandish than usual. Nevertheless, with the UK economy precariously balanced less than two years before a general election, these seem – in early January – to be sensible bets for UK plc in 2023. [...]
A year on from Mayonnaise-gate, Terry Smith mounts another attack on Unilever January 10, 2023 Legendary City investor Terry Smith has written another excoriating review of Unilever’s business performance, a year after he made headlines for criticising its focus on the “purpose” of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. In his annual letter to shareholders, the Fundsmith chief lists a series of complaints about the consumer goods firm, saying it had failed to engage [...]