Dual threat of Omicron and Plan B to destabilise UK jobs market recovery, warn City economists December 14, 2021 The dual threat of the Omicron variant and strict restrictions on daily life to curb its spread will smash the UK jobs market, City economists warned today. Measures to cut Brits’ social contact in a bid to quash the new coronavirus strain, including being encouraged to work from home, will hit retail, leisure and hospitality [...]
Covid fear-mongering will slash through business confidence December 14, 2021 Businesses need confidence even more than they need good policy. Whispers from government over the need for Plan C and the possibility of a Plan D, before MPs have even voted on Plan B, are just the latest in a long line of public utterances that undermine business confidence – with very real results. Business [...]
UK businesses resist hiking prices despite cost assault December 14, 2021 UK businesses are swallowing swelling costs in a bid to avoid wiping out demand by hiking prices, reveals fresh research published today. The chasm between the amount it costs firms to produce goods and the price they charge for their products has widened to the largest on record, research by Lloyds Bank found. Soaring costs [...]
Two thirds businesses call for higher sick pay rate amid growing Omicron fears December 14, 2021 Nearly two thirds of employers have called for a rise in statutory sick pay (SSP) in the UK, according to a new report. The professional body for human resources behind the report, urged for major reforms to statuary sick pay after finding that 62 per cent of employers in the country think the rate, currently [...]
Travel sector and real estate lead FTSE firms through second year of bumper capital raises December 14, 2021 UK listed companies have raised £24.7bn new capital from investors in a strong second year of cash calls, as firms spent another twelve months prioritising their Covid recovery. FTSE companies raised more than £12bn of that in the second half of the year to November, as record low interest rates saw investors more willing to [...]
Full blown lockdown would plunge UK economy far below pre-pandemic size December 13, 2021 A full blown lockdown would derail the UK’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, reveals fresh analysis from City economists. Shutting down the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors will cause the British economy to shrink to six per cent below its pre-pandemic size, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. Imposing tougher restrictions on businesses that rely on [...]
UK airlines ask PM to remove travel restrictions as Omicron pushes shares down December 13, 2021 Bosses of major UK airlines have sent Prime Minister Boris Johnson a letter asking the government to remove travel restrictions , as stocks today continued to plummet. Easyjet, as well as British Airways’ (BA) owner IAG and Ryanair, saw their stocks go down 4.72, 5.29 and 3.46 per cent respectively because of fears of further [...]
West End ‘extremely concerned about long-term survival’ as new guidance comes into force December 13, 2021 Central London retailers are hopeful eager Christmas shoppers will offset the absence of office workers in the capital this month while warning businesses are running out of cash. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands, restaurants and businesses in the West End, said footfall for the week of 6 December was up three per [...]
UK firms slash borrowing to reduce swelling debt burden December 13, 2021 British businesses are set to slash borrowing this year as firms repay debt to repair the damage inflicted on them by the Covid-19 crisis, according to a new report released today. A return to normal patterns of economic activity after the disruption caused by the pandemic will drive a sharp pull back in business borrowing, [...]
Record volume of UK factories hike prices in bid to survive inflation assault December 13, 2021 UK factories are hiking prices en masse in a bid to withstand an inflation onslaught, reveal fresh figures released today. A record number of British factories are raising prices as the sector scrambles to offset swelling costs to protect margins, research by BDO and Make UK found. The “eye watering impact of escalating cost pressures” [...]