BHP iron production rebounds after cyclone hit third quarter July 17, 2019 Anglo-Australian miner BHP saw iron ore output rebound in the fourth quarter of the year, and forecast even higher production going forward. Iron ore production hit 63m tonnes in the three months to June, a 12 per cent increase on the quarter before. Read more: Rio Tinto faces delays and up to $1.9bn added costs [...]
Real wages rise as UK inflation stays at two per cent July 17, 2019 The prices in UK shops rose by two per cent in the 12 months to the end of June, official figures have revealed, with clothing and food costs rising most rapidly in the last year. Read more: UK unemployment stays at 45-year low as wages tick up The two per cent consumer price index (CPI) [...]
Mike Coupe is yet to convince the City that he has a Plan B for Sainsbury’s July 3, 2019 It has been several months since the Mike Coupe dream of a merger with Asda was dealt a lethal blow from Britain’s competition watchdog. But how much has the embattled chief executive changed his tune? Not enough, it would seem, to quell anxiety among investors. Shares in the supermarket giant failed to pick up today [...]
Wood Group boosts first-half profit as it looks to cut debt pile June 26, 2019 Energy services firm Wood Group has reported profit growth in the first half of the year, thanks to an improvement in its margins. The FTSE 250 firm said revenue for the six months to the end of June was in line with the previous year. Read more: Wood Group wins $1bn nuclear contract at Sellafield [...]
British Gas owner Centrica to axe 700 management jobs in UK June 19, 2019 British Gas owner Centrica has confirmed it will slash up to 700 management and back office roles in the UK as part of a previously announced wave of job cuts. The latest losses will count towards the 4,000 job cuts figure announced in February 2018, which Centrica intends to complete by 2020. Read more: British [...]
Nationalising the Big Six could leave British pensioners out of pocket June 18, 2019 A trade union plan to nationalise the UK’s biggest energy suppliers could favour foreign investors to the detriment of British pensioners, a city lawyer has warned. Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party, which has pledged widespread nationalisation of the energy industry, welcomed the proposal from the Unison, one of Britain’s largest trade unions, to bring the Big [...]
US inflation tepid ahead of Fed rates decision June 12, 2019 US consumer price inflation slowed in May, official data revealed today, in news that could add to pressure on the country’s central bank to cut interest rates. Read more: Trump attacks euro and repeats criticism of Fed The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.8 per cent in May compared to a year earlier, down from [...]
British public’s inflation expectations hit 10-year high June 7, 2019 The British public’s expectations for inflation over the next five years has risen to the highest level in more than a decade. The Bank of England’s quarterly survey showed that the public’s average inflation expectations in five years has risen to 3.8 per cent, compared to 3.4 per cent in February. But short-term expectations over [...]
UK economy ‘close to stagnation’ despite service sector growth June 5, 2019 The UK service sector beat analysts’ expectations to reach a three-month high in May, according to survey data released today by IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (Cips). Read more: UK manufacturing sector shrinks to 34-month low Nevertheless, IHS Markit said the UK economy is “close to stagnation” as Brexit and [...]
United Utilities profits rise as it worries over ‘uncertainty’ of Corbyn’s nationalisation May 23, 2019 United Utilities said the prospect of nationalisation was causing uncertainty in the water sector as it pushed its work to help customers this morning. The figures Revenue at the listed water company grew 4.8 per cent to £1.8bn in the year ending March, the firm revealed today. Read more: Severn Trent chairman to step down [...]