Twice as many young people want permanent flexible working post-Covid October 30, 2020 The rapid acceleration of home working caused by the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a generational divide in how employees would prefer to work post-Covid, a new survey suggests. Twice as many under-35s want permanent flexible working options post-pandemic compared to over-55s, according to new research by Deloitte. Some 64 per cent of under-35s said they [...]
Amazon quarterly sales near $100bn amid online shopping boom October 29, 2020 Amazon has continued its bumper year of trading, posting quarterly sales of nearly $100bn (£77.4bn) as the pandemic sparked a surge in demand for online shopping. The ecommerce giant said net sales had increased 37 per cent year on year to hit $96.1bn in the three months to the end of September. Net profit hit [...]
Channel 4 advertising bounces back amid privatisation threat October 29, 2020 Channel 4 today said its advertising revenue had rebounded strongly from a coronavirus-induced slump as it shrugged off renewed threats of privatisation. Earlier this month media minister John Whittingdale hinted that the government was mulling a sale of Channel 4, adding that its business model was under strain and may not be sustainable. But the [...]
London Tories slam Mayor Sadiq Khan over housing pledge and say he’ll miss home completion targets October 29, 2020 New figures reveal less than a third of the homes London's mayor started building in his first term have been completed.
Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom October 29, 2020 Lloyds posted a forecast-beating profit for the third quarter as Britain’s biggest domestic lender cashed in booming demand for mortgages and set aside a smaller amount to cover bad loans. The bank returned to profitability in the three months to September after posting an unexpected loss in the first half. Lloyds reported a pre-tax profit [...]
Brexit: UK ‘will not back down’ on fisheries policy October 28, 2020 The UK will not back down on its demands to the EU over fisheries in Brexit trade talks, Michael Gove has said, as the two sides hold crunch talks today in the hopes of hammering out a last-minute trade deal. Responding to concerns set out by Jeremy Miles, the Welsh minister for European transition, Gove [...]
Management consultancies cash in £180m for Brexit planning October 28, 2020 Management consultancies have been awarded more than £180m to deliver Brexit, as the government faces mounting criticism for handing out taxpayer cash to private firms during the pandemic. Documents released yesterday showed the government has signed six Brexit contracts each worth £30m with KPMG, McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture and PwC. Ministers said the £180m sum [...]
John Lewis to convert almost half of Oxford Street store into offices October 28, 2020 John Lewis has been given the green light to convert almost half of its flagship Oxford Street department store into office space amid turmoil for the UK’s retail sector. Westminster City Council last night granted the high street store conditional planning permission to transform three to eight floors into dual-use space. The local authority voted [...]
Deutsche Bank swings to surprise profit in third quarter October 28, 2020 Deutsche Bank reported a surprise profit for the third quarter this morning despite its ongoing restructuring and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The lender posted a profit of €309m as its net revenues grew 13 per cent year-on-year to €5.9bn during the quarter. It saw profit attributable to shareholders rise to €182m, compared with [...]
Microsoft beats revenue forecasts on cloud computing growth October 27, 2020 Microsoft posted a rise in revenue for the first quarter as the ongoing shift to home working helped drive up demand for its cloud computing services. Microsoft reported revenue of $37.2bn (£28.5bn) for the three months to the end of September, up 12 per cent on the same period last year and ahead of analysts’ [...]