FTSE 100 close: Soft Lloyds Bank results spark sell off as Natwest tumbles after Alison Rose exit July 26, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged down today by investors ditching shares in Britain’s biggest banks after Lloyds posted a soggy set of results that dampened market sentiment. The capital’s premier index fell 0.19 per cent to 7,676.88 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
Fish and chip-per: ‘Classic’ pub grub leads the way for Marston’s surging sales July 26, 2023 Marston’s thanked warmer weather in June and appetite for classic pub like fish and chips grub for a surge in like-for-like sales for the 16 weeks ended July. Unusually hot spells at the start of summer drove customers to pubs, with more people drinking and dining out hiking like-for-like sales by 10.9 per cent. Group [...]
Hunt tells banks and energy firms to use profits to support customers and avoid a ‘fiscal intervention’ July 26, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has urged big banking and energy firms to use their profits to help customers with the cost of living crisis, and avoid intervention from the Government. In an article calling on corporations to support the public through Britain’s ongoing economic woes, he appealed to firms to be more responsible, pitching a “social [...]
Deutsche Bank flags cost cuts as investment bank slump lowers profit July 26, 2023 Deutsche Bank on Wednesday posted a 27 per cent fall in second-quarter profit as investment banking revenue slumped and warned of the need for cost cuts even though higher interest rates fuelled gains at its retail division. The German lender downgraded its outlook for the investment bank, saying it now expected revenues to be slightly lower [...]
Reckitt: Durex maker’s sales swell as price hikes offset volume slump July 26, 2023 Durex-maker Reckitt Benckiser said ramping up its prices had helped soften the blow of a volume slowdown in the first half of the year as it topped analyst expectations. Reckitt, which also owns Cillit Bang and Dettol among other brands, posted a pretax profit of £1.64bn for the first half of the year, down from [...]
Heathrow narrows losses but blames CAA price cap for staying in the red July 26, 2023 Heathrow Airport said on Wednesday it remained loss making in the first half of 2023 despite soaring passenger figures, blaming a cap on the amount it can charge airlines for using the hub. For the six months to June, the west-London hub saw adjusted pre-tax losses halve to £139m but said that the airport “remains [...]
Higher interest rates lift Santander UK profit to £1.2bn, warns mortgage market is cooling July 26, 2023 Santander UK saw its profit rise significantly in the first half of the year, but the bank also noted that applications for mortgages had been hit by recent economic volatility. In the first half of the year pre-tax profit climbed 18 per cent to £1.2bn from £993m last year. This came thanks to a 10 [...]
Lloyds profit remains flat on last year despite boost from rising rates but guidance lifted for the year July 26, 2023 Lloyds’ profit remained flat on last year despite the benefit of rising interest rates as the bank set aside more than anticipated to cope with bad loans. In the second quarter the high street bank recorded a pre-tax profit of £1.6bn, flat with last year but slightly lower than company compiled consensus. However, the profit [...]
Are wages or profits to blame for the inflation crisis? July 26, 2023 A lot of energy has been wasted on finding the source of the near two-year long global inflation surge. It has resembled a cathartic process to help families and businesses come to terms with how damaging the cost of living crisis has been. First Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey drew scorn for demanding workers [...]
Floating offshore wind ripe for subsidies, Octopus’ renewable boss argues July 26, 2023 The government should target subsidies at emerging technologies where the UK can be a world leader, such as floating offshore wind.