REC: Post-lockdown record rise in vacancies hints at UK jobs recovery August 14, 2020 More new vacancies for UK jobs were advertised last week than at any other time since the lockdown began, a new report has found. Around 126,000 new UK-based jobs were posted in the week 3-9 August, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). It brought the total number of vacancies across the UK to [...]
Just Group shares jump as profit survives pandemic August 13, 2020 Just Group’s shares leapt today after it posted slightly higher profit for the first six months of 2020 today despite the pandemic. The figures Underlying operating profit rose £3m to £117m year on year for the first half of 2020. Profit from active life insurance policies shot up 25 per cent year on year to [...]
British life insurers paid £90m in coronavirus death claims by the end of May August 13, 2020 British life insurers paid £90m in claims for coronavirus deaths in the three months to the end of May, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said today. Insurers received 7,000 life insurance claims from families of people who died from covid-19 and 83 per cent have been paid so far, the ABI said. Every life [...]
Goldman and Barclays eye General Motors’ credit card business August 12, 2020 Goldman Sachs and Barclays are reportedly among bidders for General Motors credit card unit. The two banks are among a small number of suitors for the car company’s credit card business which has about $3bn (£2.3bn) in outstanding balances, according to The Wall Street Journal. Goldman currently has a relatively small presence in consumer banking, [...]
Markets live: Wall Street bull run resumes as FTSE 100 pushes higher August 12, 2020 Wall Street continued its winning streak as markets opened this afternoon after the FTSE 100 shrugged off dour UK GDP data to push higher. The blue chip index closed up 2.20 per cent at 6,289 points, marking a three-week high. Traders shrug off recession It comes after official data showed UK GDP shrank 20.4 per [...]
City calls for deeper tax relief as UK sinks into recession August 12, 2020 Business groups have called on the government to take “bold action” after the UK economy plunged into recession last quarter as GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent between April and June, the biggest single quarter decline on record. With vast swathes of the economy closed due to the coronavirus lockdowns, activity flatlined in April, before [...]
M&G profit crashes as retail investors pull funds August 12, 2020 M&G today posted a sharp fall in first-half profit after retail investors rushed to withdraw funds during the coronavirus crisis and it counted the costs of its demerger. The insurer and asset manager saw its adjusted pre-tax profit slump 59 per cent to £309m in the six months to the end of June, though this [...]
Admiral reinstates special dividend as profit boosted by lockdown August 12, 2020 Car insurer Admiral reinstated its special dividend today as it reported a jump in first-half profit thanks to a slump in claims as coronavirus lockdowns kept drivers off the road in March and April. The company’s combined ratio, considered the main gauge of an insurer’s profitability, dropped to 83 per cent from 92.3 per cent [...]
Prudential to spin off US unit to focus on Asia and Africa August 11, 2020 Insurer Prudential said today it planned to spin off its US business Jackson to focus on Asia and Africa, as its adjusted operating profit fell three per cent in the first half. A minority initial public offering (IPO) of Jackson is planned for the first half of 2021, with “full divestment over time”, Prudential said [...]
Softbank bounces back with $12bn profit thanks to tech boom August 11, 2020 Softbank has bounced back from a record loss earlier in the year after strong performances by its tech investments fuelled a $12bn (£9.2bn) quarterly profit. The Japanese conglomerate plunged to its worst ever annual performance in March after recording a huge $18bn loss for its flagship $100bn Vision Fund. Softbank set out plans for a [...]