Supermarket heavyweights the Co-op and Waitrose face mounting pressure to return business rates relief December 4, 2020 High street titans the Co-op Group and Waitrose are facing mounting pressure to follow their peers and hand back millions of pounds of business rates relief dished out to keep the companies afloat during the pandemic. The Co-op is facing growing disquiet from members after refusing to emulate rivals Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Aldi, [...]
Salaries to increase next year as companies move to lift pay freezes December 3, 2020 UK private sector workers are set to receive average pay rises of 2.4 per cent in 2021, according to data released by Willis Towers Watson this morning. The number of UK companies expecting to freeze pay is expected to fall sharply next year, in a further sign of cautious optimism for 2021. The more upbeat [...]
Insurer Phoenix reports £1.7bn cash generation December 3, 2020 Insurer Phoenix Group has reported a full-year cash generation of £1.7bn, exceeding the top end of its target range and more than doubling from last year. The life insurer’s reported cash generation compares with £707m it reported in 2019 and a target range of £1.5-£1.6bn. Group CEO Andy Briggs said: “As we execute successfully against [...]
Dial “Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise” for this economic emergency December 2, 2020 Never before has a chancellor had to stand in the House of Commons and present quite such dire economic news: the largest fall in output in 300 years; the highest level of borrowing in our peacetime history; and unemployment set to rise by over a million in the next six months. Amid this economic emergency [...]
OECD downgrades UK economic outlook ahead of Brexit deadline December 1, 2020 The OECD has downgraded its outlook for the UK economy amid surging coronavirus cases and has warned of a hit from a no-deal Brexit. In its latest economic outlook, the global economic organisation said it expected UK GDP to contract by 11.2 per cent this year compared to the 10.1 per cent forecasted in September. [...]
The best medicine for the Covid economy? Tax reform December 1, 2020 In last week’s Spending Review, the scale of the economic challenge facing Britain was made unequivocally clear: the worst drop in GDP for centuries, unprecedented peacetime borrowing, and lasting scarring effects on productivity and the labour market. The chancellor is keen to stress that these problems will require a concerted response in the years ahead. [...]
Exclusive: Crunch time for insurers on Covid-19 discount decisions November 30, 2020 It is crunch time for the insurance industry, which now must decide what Covid-19 refunds and discounts to give customers ahead of the deadline set by the city regulator. Insurers have until 3 December to decide where, if at all, it is appropriate to apply Covid-19 related refunds or discounts on insurance policies. The Financial [...]
Global Britain: should the dramatic shift in ownership of the UK stock market be feared or cheered? November 30, 2020 How global will Britain be in future? This is a question that polarises opinion. But while the UK still needs to define its place in a post-Brexit world, its financial markets have never been more populated with foreigners. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, more than half of the UK stock market is [...]
Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia facing collapse within hours November 30, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia, which owns high street brands Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, is reportedly on the brink of collapse this morning. The retail group could become the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and appoint administrators as soon as this afternoon, City A.M. understands, which would put 13,000 jobs at risk. Mike [...]
Don’t make us pay national insurance for furloughed staff, say struggling businesses November 27, 2020 Business groups representing hospitality, retail and leisure businesses have united to urge the government to provide sector specific support for fear of going bust due to higher tier restrictions. The groups, which have launched a ‘Bounce Back Better’ campaign to urge the government to provide them support, have asked for National Insurance payments to be [...]