UK job vacancies see biggest weekly rise in 2020 August 13, 2020 The number of online job adverts has risen according to new data, despite an increasing number of people being made redundant across the UK. The total volume of online job adverts saw its biggest weekly increase in 2020 between 31 July and 7 August, data from the Office of National Statistics has revealed. Job adverts [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Balfour Beatty swings to loss as coronavirus shuts down construction in UK August 12, 2020 Shares in construction firm Balfour Beatty fell 4.4 per cent this morning after the company posted a £24m loss for the first half. The FTSE 250 firm said that the coronavirus pandemic, which hampered work at its building sites, was behind the loss. The figures Balfour Beatty swung from a £64m underlying profit for the [...]
Debenhams axes 2,500 jobs in bid to cut costs after coronavirus lockdown August 11, 2020 Debenhams has axed 2,500 jobs as it seeks to reduce costs following the coronavirus lockdown, in the latest blow for the struggling UK high street. The department store chain, which permanently closed 20 stores during lockdown, said the trading environment is “clearly a long way from returning to normal” after lockdown restrictions were lifted. The [...]
A third of UK firms plan job cuts by October as furlough scheme ends August 10, 2020 As many as one in three UK firms plan to slash jobs by October as the government winds up its coronavirus furlough scheme, a new survey has revealed. Roughly 33 per cent of companies, charities and public sector bodies said they expected to make redundancies in the third quarter, according to a poll from the [...]
The world may seem bleak right now, but Team Human can still have the last laugh August 10, 2020 “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Words of wisdom from the twentieth century comic genius that was Charlie Chaplin. But whatever 2020 is ultimately remembered for, it seems set to be a year where very few of its days will have been characterised by cheerfulness. The epic challenge presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, [...]
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under new security law August 10, 2020 Hong Kong media owner Jimmy Lai was arrested by police today under the territory’s draconian new security law. Lai was accused of collusion with foreign forces and the offices of his Apple Daily newspaper were raided by more than 200 police officers. Lai is the most high-profile victim of a Beijing-backed crackdown following the passing [...]
Royal London swings to £181m loss on drop in sales and asset values August 10, 2020 Pensions provider Royal London today said it swung to a loss in the six months to 30 June which it blamed on falling asset values and slow sales during lockdown. Royal London posted a loss before tax of £181m for the six-month period, down from a profit of £397m at the half-year in 2019. Its [...]
London calling: Why it’s time to bring life back to our city’s streets August 10, 2020 Despite a tentative easing of the national lockdown, the lingering economic and social consequences of this policy are frighteningly obvious to anyone venturing into central London. While social life and economic activity has, to a large extent, returned to the outer zones and suburbs, the offices and shops of London’s professional districts remain eerily and [...]