Bank of England warned to be wary of public sector pay deals August 23, 2024 "The big risk is that by setting a benchmark for private sector firms, these pay deals prevent wage growth and services inflation from falling much further," Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics said.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour boosts London amid calls for the icon to get Freedom of the City August 23, 2024 On Tuesday night, Taylor Swift played the final show of the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium. The results are in: London saw a boost in consumer spending, city footfall and tube journeys during her stay in the capital, with one MP describing her tour as a “lifeline” to the UK [...]
UK economy still Europe’s ‘bright spot’ after latest PMI surveys August 23, 2024 The latest 'flash' purchasing managers' index (PMIs), released yesterday by S&P, showed that the UK maintained its advantage over rivals on the continent in August.
Ted Baker seller in the red as jobs cut and stores closed amid focus switch to Suit Direct August 23, 2024 A group which sells Ted Baker clothes across the UK slumped into the red as it significantly restructured itself to focus on its Suit Direct brand. As part of the move, Baird Group disposed of its license to sell Ben Sherman clothes, closed unprofitable stores, cut more than 100 jobs and appointed a new chief [...]
PwC China to be hit with ban over audit of collapsed property developer Evergrande August 22, 2024 PwC's Chinese entity is expected to be hit with a six-month business ban over its audit of collapsed Chinese real estate property developer Evergrande
Growth set to continue as confidence in the economy builds August 22, 2024 A closely watched survey suggests that the UK will continue growing at a robust pace in the second half of the year as confidence in the economy continues to build. S&P’s ‘flash’ purchasing managers’s index (PMI) accelerated to 53.4 in August, up from 52.8 last month and ahead of the 52.9 expected by economists. PMIs, [...]
Fred Perry issues bumper pay day as sales pass milestone August 22, 2024 British sporting and fashion brand Fred Perry has paid out a bumper dividend after its sales jumped past the £150m mark during its latest financial year. Founded by Wimbledon champion Fred Perry in 1952, the company has issued £90m in dividends for 2023 after its turnover totalled £154.1m for the year. The figure comes after [...]
Federal Reserve: September rate cut ‘confirmed’ after latest releases August 22, 2024 A September rate cut looks nailed on after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s last meeting, released last night, showed many rate-setters had considered a cut in July. Several members at the Fed’s last meeting thought there was a “plausible case” for cutting rates by 25 basis points given the progress on inflation and increases [...]
The Hagen Project on hygge and the future of coffee August 22, 2024 The Hagen Project wants to do coffee differently: it has no menus on the walls, no customer facing fridges or retail products, and often no seating. Sometimes it is “the coffee machine and nothing else”, founder Tim Schroeder said. “You want to sell an experience, you want to sell an emotion, you want to sell [...]
Enough with the hysteria, NHS pay rises make us all richer August 22, 2024 NHS pay rises have sparked apocalyptic headlines, but a better public sector makes us all richer, writes Sam Fowles.