UK recession wobble sends FTSE profit warnings back to Covid-19 levels April 24, 2023 The UK’s flirtation with a recession over the last year or so has prompted a wave of the country’s top companies to warn shareholders to expect profits to miss forecasts, a new report out today shows. Profit warnings among UK-listed firms climbed to 75 in the first three months of this year, the highest level [...]
Who could take over from the CBI? April 24, 2023 Britain’s biggest business organisation, the CBI, has been engulfed by a toxic scandal which threatens to see it collapse. Allegations of rape, sexual attacks and harassment have seen the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) brand damaged “beyond repair”, according to one business leader. A flood of firms announced they were quitting the lobbying group, which [...]
Diplomacy with the EU, the US and beyond will help us bolster our financial services April 24, 2023 Diplomatic relations with the EU and US will only help Britain’s standing post-Brexit, writes Nicholas Lyons
Services sector reaches 13-month high but UK growth ‘lopsided’ as consumers raid the storecupboard April 21, 2023 Growth of Britain’s services sector has reached a year-high in April, a closely watched survey has revealed. Figures released this morning in S&P Global/CIPS flash UK purchasing managers’ index, show output rose to 53.9 in April from 52.2 in March. The survey showed that private sector growth had increased for the third consecutive month, beating [...]
Retail: Sixth wettest March on record dampens sales as shoppers’ fail to weather inflation hike April 21, 2023 Retail sales fell 0.9 per cent in March as wet weather conditions and high inflation hit consumer spending during the month. Despite Mother’s Day falling within the month retail, non-food sales such as clothing and homeware, fell by 1.3 per cent as the sixth wettest March on record since 1836 deterred shoppers from hitting the [...]
Bitcoin slips below $29,000 and Ethereum now under $2,000 as crypto sell-off continues April 20, 2023 Bitcoin and Ethereum struggled to hold support around key levels, with the leading crypto dipping first below $30k and later $29k.
Can Amazon Prime, Netflix and the streamers survive the UK’s recession fears? April 20, 2023 The number of British households signed up to streaming platforms has slumped so far this year, as more cash-strapped viewers trim their subscriptions to cut costs. The number of homes subscribed to at least one video streaming platform fell to 16.1 million between January and March this year, down from 16.91 million during the same [...]
Mark this Earth Day by investing in green finance skills April 20, 2023 This year’s Earth Day on Saturday should serve as an urgent call to action for businesses. As a community, we must rapidly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help our society adapt to human-caused climate change. If businesses are to deliver on their sustainability strategies and fund essential innovation, they also need access to well-priced [...]
FTSE 100 close: Inflation shock drags London index lower as real estate firms lead losses April 19, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped today as investors took fright at UK inflation topping forecasts to stay in the double digits last month. The capital’s premier index shed 0.13 per cent to drop to 7,898.78 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.49 [...]
Will inflation ever fall back below 10 per cent? Yes, but we’ve been wrong before April 19, 2023 We find ourselves in the same situation again. UK inflation has topped the City and Bank of England’s expectations, hanging in the double digits in March at 10.1 per cent. The forecast was for it to slip to 9.8 per cent. Families and businesses will be forgiven for worrying whether it will ever fall back [...]