City braces for BoE rate hike and mini-budget September 19, 2022 The City is bracing for a bumper week of economic data and policy announcements in a trading week shortened by the UK bank holiday for The Queen’s funeral. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted mixed performance last week, initially jumping higher before closing 1.56 per cent lower at 7,236.68 points. Its mid-cap domestically-focused counterpart, the [...]
City exclusive: Brits leave Europeans trailing in digital banking September 18, 2022 Brits are significantly ahead of other Europeans in their embrace of digital forms of banking. New research, shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning, shows that people in the UK are nearly twice as likely as other Europeans to prefer applying for financial products and services online via website or app, including through online chat [...]
Hospitality hit ‘from both sides’ of energy price crisis as number of insolvent firms shoots up September 18, 2022 There has been a huge spike in the number of company insolvencies in the past year by 72 per cent, as hospitality bears the brunt of soaring energy bills. New figures from the Insolvency Service show pubs, bars and restaurants have been the worst affected, being “from both sides” by the cost of living crisis. [...]
Pound Sterling tumbles to 37-year low against US Dollar after poor UK retail sales figures September 16, 2022 Pound Sterling tumbled to a 37-year low against the dollar this morning, pushed further down by disappointing retail sales figures. It plummeted to by more than one per cent to 1.1351, its lowest against the dollar since 1985, while continuing its 17-month poor run against the Euro also. The Euro rose to 87.66 pence, its [...]
Retail sales continue year-long downward spiral amid cost of living crisis September 16, 2022 Retail sales fell last month, according to official figures, as the cost of living crisis prompts Brits to dial back spending. Sale volumes fell by 1.6 per cent in August, continuing a downward trend since summer 2021. Both food and non-food stores, as well as non-store retailing and fuel forecourts all saw lower sales over [...]
Kwarteng must pull businesses out of limbo before MPs head off to party conferences September 16, 2022 I can probably count on one hand just how often MPs have been in parliament in these past three months. It makes a mockery of our parliamentary system in such a time of need.
Scrap the cap: It’s the right thing to do September 15, 2022 The bankers' bonus cap is reportedly on the chopping block, and it'd be a fine way to signal a change in tone from government
Mike Leigh: ‘The Queen dying is emotional but King Charles? That’s another matter’ September 15, 2022 For a man seven-times Oscar nominated for films about so-called ‘ordinary’ people, Mike Leigh certainly plays the part. We meet outside the newly opened Garden Cinema, but there’s no blacked-out car to deliver perhaps Britain’s most famous living director. Instead, Leigh appears from around a street corner, alone, clasping a folded chair under arm. If [...]
Amazon strike ballot ‘making history’ says UK union boss September 15, 2022 AMAZON workers at a Coventry warehouse became the first in the UK to take part in a formal strike ballot against the ecommerce titan. Hundreds of workers began voting this morning on whether to walk out over Amazon’s 35 pence per hour pay offer, with union GMB lobbying for a £2 per hour increase as [...]
Sofa giant DFS suffers big slump in profits after ‘grim year’ amid sharp retail downturn September 15, 2022 DFS said this morning the sofa seller has suffered a big slump in profits. Moreover, the company warned that the industry is facing a downturn as soaring bills mean fewer customers are in the market for a new sofa. DFS said pre-tax profit dropped 43 per cent to £58.5m in the financial year that ended [...]