Soaring cost of living leaves service sector at its weakest in two years, but recession fears fail to blight UK business optimism February 3, 2023 The UK’s service sector saw business activity at the start of 2023 decline for the fourth consecutive month, with the weakest performance for two years. The S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI survey showed a reading of 48.7 in January, down from 49.9 in December; any reading below 50 is considered a decline. Although only marginal, [...]
Flying start to 2023: Shares up after 16m passengers take to skies on Ryanair and Wizz Air February 2, 2023 Shares for low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air have gone up this morning after both reported a strong start to 2023, with passenger numbers well above 2022 levels. Ryanair’s passenger numbers soared to 11.8 million in the last month, 69 per cent up on January last year, while Wizz Air’s levels soared 73 per cent [...]
Ryanair’s profits skyrocket to eye-watering £184.9m as low-cost airline cashes in on strong dollar and Asian tourists January 30, 2023 Ryanair has posted its largest third quarter profit after tax for the winter quarter as a boom in demand helped it soar past pre-Covid levels. In the three months ending 31 December, the Dublin-based carrier reported a pre-tax profit of €211m (£184.9m), up from last year’s loss of €96m. This was also up on the [...]
House prices: Zoopla says UK property market is off to ‘slow burn start’ with London flats in most demand January 30, 2023 The housing market in the UK has got off to a slow in 2023 with demand for cheaper, smaller properties on the rise as recession fears continue to wobble the market, according to estate agent Zoopla. Zoopla’s house price index appeared to show that buyers were holding off from entering the market and were biding [...]
FCA to take swift action against firms flouting consumer duty rules, lawyers warn January 29, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority is expected to take swift action against firms that fail to comply with new rules to protect savers and retail investors, City lawyers have warned. The City watchdog announced a major overhaul to consumer regulation last summer in the new Consumer Duty, which is set to shift greater onus onto companies [...]
Three things we learnt from Easyjet and Wizz Air’s results January 29, 2023 The European aviation industry took centre stage last week, with low-cost carriers Easyjet and Wizz Air posting their financial results for the final three months of last year. Both were encouraging, with each firm reporting revenue rises driven by Brits returning to the skies after pandemic travel restrictions. Easyjet’s income jumped to £1.5bn after traveller [...]
Why I think Bitcoin could be a key to saving the environment January 26, 2023 Susie Violet Ward busts some myths on Bitcoin's environmental credentials urging users to understand the technology to understand the value.
Bank of England expected to raise interest rates by 50 points to post financial crisis high of four per cent January 26, 2023 The Bank of England is set to hike interest rates 50 basis points to four per cent next week, jacking them up to the highest level since the financial crisis, markets expect. City traders reckon its governor Andrew Bailey will lift borrowing costs for the tenth time in a row, something the UK central bank [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays, HSBC and Easyjet shine on otherwise poor day in London January 25, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 today gave up morning gains to finish lower before stronger-than-expected retail earnings provided a balm against recession fears. The capital’s premier index fell 0.22 per cent to 7,740.34 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.38 per cent to [...]
The Notebook: Jimmy McLoughlin on ChatGPT, a healthy EY boss and the Scotch industry January 25, 2023 The political aide turned podcast host riffs on ChatGPT, the Scotch industry and RSVPs to the party of the year