US-UK trade announcement: “this isn’t a deal, it’s an amuse-bouche” May 9, 2025 The morning after the US-UK trade agreement was announced, experts are beginning to wrap their heads around what the deal entails, and reactions are trickling in. The overriding sense is that in the absence of any granular detail on what the deal means for several industries, there is still hope that the UK government can [...]
Ray-Ban owner issues warning after UK sales fall May 9, 2025 The owner of Ray-Ban has issued a warning over its performance this year after its UK sales and profit fell in 2024. The UK arm of Luxottica Group said the increase in the cost of goods and services is expected to negatively impact its gross and operating profit this year. The group added that the [...]
British Airways owner IAG to buy 53 new aircraft as earnings beat estimates May 9, 2025 British Airways and Aer Lingus owner, IAG, has announced the order of 53 new aircraft for its fleet, alongside better-than-expected first-quarter results. IAG announced the order of 53 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft for its long-haul fleet, comprising 32 Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft for Aer Lingus, Iberia and LEVEL. [...]
Rightmove: Lower mortgages and browsing Brits boost property portal May 9, 2025 Property platform Rightmove has benefitted from a more optimistic housing market as mortgage rates fall, with buyer demand and property listings both up. The FTSE100 company, which is home to over 80 per cent of all consumer time spent on UK property portals, said new property listings rose nine per cent in the first four [...]
US-UK deal is free trade in name only May 8, 2025 The newly announced UK-US trade agreement under Trump is a modest, tactical rollback of recent protectionist measures rather than a true free trade deal, aimed more at political optics than economic transformation, says Eliot Wilson Donald Trump advertised last week’s trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom as “full and comprehensive”, a [...]
How did Next become an online shopping behemoth? May 8, 2025 A better-than-expected set of first-quarter results from Next this morning has highlighted its growing reputation as an online fashion platform. Online sales, which account for around 30 per cent on overall sales, grew by 8.9 per cent in the UK and 29.6 per cent internationally. Internet-based sales have been a bigger driver of revenue over [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rate in split decision May 8, 2025 The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4.25 per cent in a split decision dividing hawks and doves. The Bank’s policymakers suggested that President Trump’s aggressive tariffs on China were “more likely to be disinflationary than inflationary”, with price growth expected to level off to its two per cent target by the end [...]
Playtech stock plummets 60 per cent following dividend payout May 8, 2025 Playtech’s stock price has crashed more than 60 per cent following the payout of a special dividend worth close to two thirds of its market capitalisation. The gambling software firm paid out almost £1.5bn as a special dividend from the sale of its Italian consumer arm Snaitech to Flutter during last year. As a result, [...]
Flutter: Paddy Power owner stock sinks after gambler winnings May 8, 2025 Flutter, the gambling giant owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, has upgraded its profit guidance despite missing analyst forecasts in the first three months of 2025. The gambling giant failed to meet expectations on revenue and profit after the US March Madness college basketball series saw a number of favourites win out, it revealed in [...]
Construction industry ‘not expected to recover’ in 2025, building supplier Lords says May 8, 2025 The UK construction industry is unlikely to recover before the end of the year, one of Britain’s biggest building materials suppliers has said, as firms wrestle with rising taxes and increased uncertainty. London-listed Lords said it was continuing to focus on delivering efficiencies to deal with cost pressures and “an increasingly onerous regulatory environment” after [...]