FTSE 100: IAG, BP and Shell guide index to cheery morning May 5, 2023 The FTSE 100 put on gains in early trading today, up more than 0.6 per cent an hour into Friday morning. Big gainers were BA-owner IAG, up more than 4 per cent after posting positive first quarter results this morning. And oil majors BP and Shell were also both happily in the green, building off [...]
We shouldn’t be running out of tomatoes because we can’t sort out our supply chains May 5, 2023 Over the last month, bad weather in Europe and Northern Africa led to certain salad items being in short supply across the UK. Leading supermarkets, including Tesco’s, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl all limited the number of tomatoes, peppers and lettuce that consumers can buy. Product shortages aren’t necessarily unusual, but since the pandemic, they have [...]
European Central Bank hikes interest rates for seventh time in a row and Lagarde signals more rises May 4, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) today hiked interest rates for the seventh time in a row and slowed the pace of its aggressive campaign to tame inflation, though its chief Christine Lagarde signalled more rises are coming. She and the rest of the governing council sent borrowing costs among the 20 countries using the euro [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index slips despite Shell rising after posting £7.6bn profit May 4, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 tumbled today despite investors piling into Shell after it launched a fresh buyback funded from its huge first quarter profits. The capital’s premier index fell 1.04 per cent to 7,707.52 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped 0.62 per [...]
Boohoo settles £156m court case over fake discount claims May 4, 2023 Boohoo has settled a staggering $197m (£156m) US court case in which the fast fashion giant was accused of faking discounts for customers. The pure-play online retailer, which also owns Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal, was accused of engaging in a “deceptive pricing scheme”, with the court filing claiming Boohoo would falsely raise the [...]
Brits yank record £4.8bn from banks after Credit Suisse and SVB failures May 4, 2023 Brits yanked a record amount of cash out of banks in March, sparked by concerns over the health of the global financial system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse, official figures out today reveal. Household deposits at UK banks shrunk £4.8bn in March, the highest monthly fall since the Bank [...]
Pacwest explores potential sale as US banking turmoil looks set to roll on May 4, 2023 After its share price tanked 50 per cent yesterday, Pacwest confirmed late last night that it was exploring "all options to maximise shareholder value" following reports that it was looking at a potential sale.
Mortgage rates ‘significantly’ increase – but what does it mean for the housing market? May 4, 2023 The number of mortgages being approved leaped in March in another signal that the outlook for the housing market is beginning to recover. Figures released today by the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose “significantly” to 52,000 in March from 44,100 in February. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at [...]
Inflation reignites in UK as economy powers further away from feared recession May 4, 2023 Inflation has reignited in the UK, pushed higher by the economy roaring back and emboldening businesses to pass on higher costs to customers via rising prices, a closely watched survey out today unveils. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (PMI) for the country’s services sector climbed sharply to 55.9 points last [...]
Keeping the crown on: the drive for social mobility in financial services May 4, 2023 Who has been watching ‘The Gold’ on BBC iPlayer? Aside from it being a great bit of TV, there was one quote that stuck in my mind. “I do a lot of reading, Micky, about England, about the way it was. And the funny thing is, right, this country, it wasn’t always like this, there [...]